The Ghost Writer

"Read between the lies."

2010 2h 8m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 2,540

ThrillerMystery

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A writer stumbles upon a long-hidden secret when he agrees to help former British Prime Minister Adam Lang complete his memoirs on a remote island after the politician's assistant drowns in a mysterious accident.

“Read between the lies.”

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Cast

Ewan McGregor
The Ghost
Pierce Brosnan
Adam Lang
Kim Cattrall
Amelia Bly
Olivia Williams
Ruth Lang
Tom Wilkinson
Paul Emmett
Timothy Hutton
Sidney Kroll
Jon Bernthal
Rick Ricardelli
Tim Preece
Roy

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Roman Polanski
Writers: Robert Harris, Roman Polanski
Languages: English
Countries: France, Germany, United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 16 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: France, Germany, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Roman Polanski, shot by Paweł Edelman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Alexandre Desplat. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Hervé de Luze shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan and Kim Cattrall carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Read between the lies.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt1139328 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Roman Polanski directs. Paweł Edelman behind the camera. Alexandre Desplat scores. Hervé de Luze cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in France, Germany, United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 16 years ago.
2International production across 3 countries: France, Germany, United Kingdom.
3Directed by Roman Polanski, shot by Paweł Edelman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Alexandre Desplat. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Hervé de Luze shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan and Kim Cattrall carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Read between the lies.".
8IMDB entry: tt1139328 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 8 themes, including "london, england", "central intelligence agency (cia)", "based on novel or book", "politics".

The technical file

Cinematography: Paweł Edelman
Original score: Alexandre Desplat
Editing: Hervé de Luze
Production design: Albrecht Konrad
Costume design: Dinah Collin
Makeup / hair: Kyra Panchenko
Stunt coordinator: Volkhart Buff
Runtime: 128 min · 2h 8m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $45,000,000
Box office: $60,300,000
Return: 134% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: The Ghost Writer (2010)

Awards

European Film Award for Best Actor
César Award for Best Adaptation
European Film Award for Best Film
Silver Bear for Best Director
César Award for Best Director
César Award for Best Music Written for a Film
Polish Academy Award for Best European Film
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress
European Film Award for Best Screenwriter
European Film Award for Best Production Designer

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Roman Polanski

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Renovatio2017-04-11
★ 7/10
Such an eerie and haunting movie… I expected just another political thriller, but this is so much more interesting… The remote setting, the media storm… the layered motivations of the characters, sexual, financial, political etc… It was also great to see cinematography that wasn’t just close ups of talking heads, which is the norm for these kinds of movies… I also liked the parallels to the real world, the Blair-esque prime minister, the Middle Eastern wars and such, but also that it really is it’s own movie and is more concerned with painting a certain world than with commenting on current events…
CinemaSerf2024-04-14
★ 7/10
It's quite difficult to watch this in the UK and not draw parallels with a certain real former Prime Minister - especially given the way "Lang" is rather chummily played by Pierce Brosnan. He is trying to have his memoirs written, and after an accident robs him of the incumbent, his team alight on a man who shows no interest in or has any knowledge of politics. This nameless character (Ewan McGregor) is given strict instruction about the manuscript, whom he can talk to or about it to and his subject and wife "Ruth" (Olivia Williams) seems approachable enough. His investigations, though, start to arouse a few suspicions - especially when he begins to feel like he is being watched, followed and manipulated. "Lang" is soon publicly caught up in some war crime investigations and his ghost writer starts to wonder just how far his boss went to foster and facilitate the relationship between his country and the USA - where they are now living and working. Add to this internecine play, his secretive secretary "Amelia" (Kim Catrall) and a rather enigmatic contribute from "Emmett" (Tom Wilkinson) and we have the makings of an intricately woven political thriller in which, for a chance, McGregor does well. He does rabbit in the headlights well as his character becomes embroiled in matters well beyond his depth. Roman Polanski keeps the film well paced with the chilly scenario and remote locations playing well to a sense of menace and duplicity. It's a bit sluggish out of the blocks, but once in gear it works well.