36/50x2: The Ghost Writer

Well, it finally happened. Waiting way too long to write these reviews has finally caught up to me. I admit that on several occasions in writing these I had to look up certain things, but for the most part I still pretty much remembered and understood what had happened in the film.

But, The Ghost Writer is the first film where I believe there was just far too much going on in the movie for me to actually remember what it was about.

So, I will give you a very short, clift notes version of what I can remember. Ewan McGregor stars as the unnamed ghost writer. He has been tasked to help write the memoirs of former British Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan) after the ghost writer before him, Mike McAra, died in an auto accident.

He travels to a small villa that Lang, his wife Ruth (Olivia Williams) and his assistant Amelia (Kim Cattrall) are all staying at. He first stays in a hotel, but after Amelia forbids him from taking the memoirs with him to work with, he decides to take up a room there.

Like the ghost writer before him, he begins to dig up many things about the Lang administration - mostly about capturing terrorists and handing them over to the CIA for torture.

Many other things are uncovered, including a pretty large twist near the end that even I did not see coming - at least I don't think I did, but it has been far too long. Hence why I will never wait this long again or fall this far behind in writing the reviews.

Anyway, from what I do remember about the film it was - decent. I really do enjoy a film about cover-ups and uncovering secrets, but here even the uncovering was done rather - boring I guess may be the word.

I really enjoy McGregor in almost anything he has been doing, and here he was pretty darn good as well. Brosnan is also pretty top notch in the role as the Prime Minister. I guess it was just the writing - and it was just so dark and bleak all of the time. Too many clouds and too much grey.

Grade: