Roman Polanski, Summit (16/04/10)

If Gordon Brown were to contemplate a trip to the cinema in the next few weeks (perhaps as a respite from all that pre-election stress), then he would be wise to avoid The Ghost. This new Roman Polanski film features a thinly veiled facsimile of Brown’s predecessor/rival Tony Blair in the shape of Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan.)
 
An ex-PM, Lang is possibly up to his neck in all sorts of dirty dealings, including infringements of civil liberties, human rights abuses and involvement in an illegal war. Exactly the sort of business, some would feel, that helped sully the New Labour dream and resulted in several party followers jumping ship.

Amongst them was Robert Harris who, as well as being a former friend of Blair, wrote both the screenplay for The Ghost and the novel that it was based on. The release of The Ghost is therefore expertly timed to give the film maximum publicity, afford much discussion in the media and offer up a fun night out for David Cameron.

Actually, The Ghost will provide fine entertainment for most of its audience, regardless of their political persuasion. It is a neatly paced, exciting thriller directed with skill and panache by Polanski. Quite a feat, really, considering that he was incarcerated in a prison cell during post-production (but more of that later). What we have, for now, is Ewan McGregor as a nameless hack writer who specialises in ‘ghosting’ celebrity autobiographies. McGregor’s character, who has the sort of ‘cockney’ accent that signals the lower end of British society in Hollywood movies, is offered the chance to polish the manuscript of Adam Lang’s life. There are two problems here, however. Firstly, Lang has even less literary talent than Jeffrey Archer and secondly, the first man to attempt the task ended up dead on a beach after ‘falling’ from a Massachusetts ferry.

The promise of a whopping pay cheque persuades McGregor’s writer to forget about all that nasty, mysterious death type stuff and take the job. Besides, Lang is holed up in a ocean-side property in Martha’s Vineyard, along with his disparaging wife (Olivia Williams) and a team of staff headed up by his PA, Amelia (Kim Cattrall.) Amelia manages to act coolly aloof whilst simultaneously being hotter than a bucket of jalapenos and the writer’s attempts to flirt with her come to nothing so he knuckles down to his work, knocking Lang’s potentially explosive and best-selling memoirs into shape.

Across the globe, the people and politicians (including Lang’s former Foreign Secretary) are crying out for the ex-leader to stand trial. The situation does not look good, but it gets a whole lot worse as the ghost delves not only into Lang’s past but also the death of his own predecessor, uncovering conspiracies, shadowy assassins and a world of danger.

Most of the press surrounding The Ghost will no doubt concentrate on the Blair connection but there is more than one side to this story. I wonder, for instance, what attracted Roman Polanski to this tale of a man who is accused of a crime of which he claims to be innocent and who finds himself hounded by both the law and the media. A virtual exile, Lang is a rich and powerful man who is unable to set foot in certain parts of the planet for fear of arrest. I imagine all this struck a chord with Polanski who was still on the run from a U.S. rape charge more than thirty years old when he began work on the film. During production, he was arrested and faced deportation by a Swiss court - art imitating life, indeed.

Whatever you feel about Polanski - and it is hard to separate the man’s past from his work - The Ghost remains a decent thriller. It is a Hitchcock homage in the vein of Polanski’s earlier films such as Frantic. And here the director delivers some lovely touches. Watch for the moment where a stressed Lang leans with his palms spread against a large window. Through the glass lies the wild sea and the angry elements so that Lang resembles a modern day King Cnut, not only trying to hold back the tide but also the assembled human forces that are rallying against him.

The director is aided by The Ghost having a smart and highly topical plot to begin with, along with a cinematographer friendly setting which, thanks to his own exile, Polanski had to partially recreate in Europe. With the film’s lead protagonist cut off from the mainland and surrounded by people whom he is unsure if he can trust the required tension and fear seems to naturally follow. Plus, this being a Robert Harris story there is a twist in the tale - more than one in fact - and the truth is finally revealed in a manner which will doubtless provoke a few wry smiles amongst the film‘s audience.

Polanski’s notoriety has never seemed to prevent him attracting a top notch cast and that is certainly the case here. It seems unfair to single anyone out but let us hope that this is the film that will finally see Olivia Williams get the recognition she deserves. Pierce Brosnan certainly provides the star power and the film does suffer a little when he disappears, temporarily, about half way through the film. Brosnan captures the duality shared by both actors and politicians. One moment he is watching TV and cursing his enemies as they appear on it. Then, when Lang has a news camera pointed at him he is professional and thoroughly smooth. On the evidence here, Brosnan could run for office himself. How about that, James Bond for PM? I’d vote for him.

review: Alan Diment

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