I had read some pretty good reviews about this film from one of the movie websites I frequent (www.firstshowing.net), and I had nothing else in the Netflix queue that I really wanted to see, so I figured I'd give this one a whirl. I also love Ewan McGregor and mystery movies, so I guess it was really a no-brainer that I'd eventually see this.
In one of the my favorite details of the film, Ewan McGregor plays a writer who we only know as The Ghost. He doesn't have a name, but it's his job to help ghostwrite former British Prime Minister Adam Lang's (Pierce Brosnan) memoirs. Lang's prior ghostwriter washed ashore dead after working on the book, so McGregor is brought in to finish the job. Unfortunately for McGregor, before he even makes it to Lang's house, Lang is brought under fire by the media for possible war crimes, giving the entire ordeal the feel of a three-ring circus, all the while making McGregor's difficult job nearly impossible.
Of course, McGregor unearths more than he bargained for, and ends up fearing for his own life, and in the middle of a possible far reaching conspiracy. The movie ends with a few tricks up it's sleeve, causing me to actually say, out loud, 'Whoa!' at one point near the end (Did NOT see that one coming).
McGregor is again very good, but Kim Cattrall seems miscast to me here, and although Pierce Brosnan is the subject of the memoirs, he doesn't have nearly as much screen time as one would expect. One interesting note is that Roman Polanski, who directed the film, actually finished the movie while in a Swiss prison, serving time for a decades-old sex with a minor charge.
This was pretty good. I understand it's not for everyone, as it contains very little action, and is filled with red herrings and misinformation. I'll stop short of recommending it, but I don't feel like I wasted my time. 3 out of 5 stars.
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