"The Ghost Writer" Movie Trailer Review

By our guest blogger, Rob Stammitti

It's difficult to even mention the name "Roman Polanski" these days without everyone getting up in arms and arguing about the man himself--judging him, condemning him, etc.--instead of putting the man aside and focusing on the one reason we even know his name--his films. Before his recent arrest, Polanski was putting the finishing touches on his first film since 2005's "Oliver Twist." The film, "The Ghost Writer," returns the director to the thriller genre on which he made his name.

The trailer has been released, and while it's definitely an indication that this is a film worth looking out for (as if that wasn't true already, what with it possibly being Polanski's last for a while), I'm completely oblivious as to what the film is about. At the very least we learn that Ewan McGregor is a ghost writer for Pierce Brosnan, a British Prime Minister. As McGregor works at Brosnan's beach home, however, mysteries unravel regarding kidnappings, murders, and other crimes and the ghost writer gets in over his head.

Just based on the trailer, the film looks really beautifully made, and the cast is really fantastic. Along with McGregor and Brosnan, the film stars Timothy Hutton, Tom Wilinson, Kim Cattrall and Olivia Williams, and each looks to be at the top of their game. It's always great to see Brosnan portray a less suave and more villainous character.

Hopefully upon the release of "The Ghost Writer" people will be able to separate art from artist, and will be willing to judge the film on its own merits, regardless of what they think of the man who made it. Guilty or not, Polanski is one of cinema's true auteurs, and while his life may always overshadow his work, that doesn't change that his films are among the most unique and interesting out there.

"The Ghost Writer" is set for a limited release on February 19, 2010. A wider release is likely to follow.


The trailer for "The Ghost Writer" is below. What are your thoughts?