Throwback Thursday: Roman Polanski's The Ghostwriter, Revisited

THIS POST ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN 2012

There are some movies I’ve never tired of watching. Each viewing yields new details, or a deeper appreciation of a story well told. Of writing John Gardner wrote, "Detail is the lifeblood of fiction." Certainly celluloid makes instantly vivid quantities of detail that words on paper would take pages to convey. But in film, many of the details are not simply for the creation of the fictional reality but serve to produce subliminal messages that reinforce the story's themes. In this regard, Roman Polanski is a master of the film arts.

For years Polanski’s harrowing Chinatown (Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway) has been one of those films I never tire of seeing. In his book Screenplay, screenwriting instructor Syd Field points to Chinatown as one of Hollywood’s most perfect films and worth studying in depth if one desires to learn the craft. I’ve not read the screenplay for The Ghost Writer, but as I watch once again this nail-biter suspense drama I’m swept away by those details.

For example, in one sequence Ewan McGregor is watching out the window as a man is attempting to sweep hay or brush into a wheelbarrow. There’s a strong wind, however, and the lightweight material keeps getting dispersed till the fellow gives up in futility. It’s only a few seconds in length, and totally unnecessary in terms of advancing the story, yet it telegraphs the entire film with no words whatsoever.

The main story line is about a writer (Ewan McGregor) who has been called in to complete the memoirs of former prime minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan) whose previous ghost writer was found washed up on a beach on the island where they are staying here in the U.S. It’s interesting that we never learn the ghost writer’s name. A few times Adam Lang addresses him as “man” – as in “hey man” or “good work, man” -- but any special feeling of comradery in thus addressing him is pinched away by another's explanation, “he always calls a person that when he can’t remember their name.”

Like Chinatown this film is about a man brought in contact with a situation in which he finds a loose thread that slowly unravels a mystery that is far too big and dark and potentially deadly. You know he's in over his head but you root for him, though each turn of the screw leaves you more uncomfortably anxious for his safety. And like Chinatown, you only have the hero's perspective so that as new information arises the ground shifts beneath his feet. Like the ghost writer, you yourself are uncertain who the good guys are.

It would be easy to compare this film to many a Hitchcock thriller in which a simple character is unexpectedly thrust into a much more dangerous and complicated situation than he first imagined. I think of The 39 Steps or Cary Grant in North By Northwest, or Jimmy Stewart and Doris Day in The Man Who Knew Too Much. With each new revelation tensions mount as our ghost writer begins to realize that he is now a man who knows too much. Yet, what does he know? He’s uncertain but somehow feels impelled to divine what it was that his predecessor knew.

Throughout I found this film pitch perfect. Next time you're looking around on Netflix or Blockbuster, check it out.

Featured Book of the Day: Unremembered Histories

Throwback Thursday: Woody Allen Weaves An Uncommon Tragedy in Cassandra's Dream

Just finished watching Woody Allen’s most recent release, Cassandra’s Dream, starring Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor, among others. There are many great facets of the film, including the superfine way Allen creates fully developed characters with a minimal number of brushstrokes. He’s a master in this regard.

A follow up to Match Point, the film has the same seriousness, setting (England), ironies, and mix of characters with their different generational viewpoints and motivations. The characters are transparent to the viewer, but not to one another. In this regard, the screen writing is brilliant.

It is a story of two brothers -- and their love interests as well as family ties -- who have character flaws. Each has dreams that require money, and each seems intent on escaping the responsibilities of the family business to pursue what are patently foolish paths. At one point the brothers reminded me of some of Elmore Leonard’s criminals who are both smart and foolish. The outcome of the film was from the beginning self-evident, why could they not see it coming? Yet people do these kinds of things all the time. The music track alone tells you this is a tragedy and going to have a bad ending.

I did have a problem with the Philip Glass soundtrack on one level. Yes, it worked well in this film, but for me it evoked The Illusionist. If someone pointed this out (and someone must have) I can picture Allen saying, “That’ll work. Not that many people will have seen both films.” Or something to that effect.

That may be the one weakness of the film, not the music, but the decision to not push something to another level. Mr. Allen’s philosophy of film making is not to produce great art. It is to get the stories out. He is undoubtedly filled with stories, and simply doesn’t waste time on time consuming details. Or so it seems.

For this reason, despite the fabulous acting and great dialogue, crisp character development and tight story, the movie might not receive its share of critical acclaim. But then, in reading his book Woody Allen on Woody Allen, he owns up to the fact that he is not striving to be Bergman or Fellini. He does not wish the comparison to be even made. He is simply a man who loved the movies, and who has lived out his dream of being able to make movies. Ultimately, he probably doesn’t really care what the critics think, which is a nice place to be if you can get there.

In the end, I would have re-shot at least two or three moments in the film that should have been re-shot to “get it right.” Though maybe in the grand scheme of things it didn’t matter. There is much to like here with its echoes of Greek tragedy and other classic moments in literature. (The scene in the bedroom felt eerily close to the problem Raskalnikov encountered in Crime & Punishment, undoubtedly intentional.)

The film has sensuousness as a theme with almost none of the usual Hollywood demonstrativeness. It hints, rather than reveals.

The title for the film comes from the name of a boat which the brothers buy. The name Cassandra is taken from mythical Greek tragedy. Cassandra was loved by Apollo, but ended up being cursed by him when she did not return his love. Her gift of being able to foresee the future was forever a source of pain and frustration for her. The viewer of this film, like Cassandra, knows from the first that things will turn out bad, but can do nothing to stop it.

As is often the case, “The best laid plans of mice and men do often go awry.” Or to quote a maxim of my own, “We tend to get what we want, but we usually get more than we bargained for.”

THIS REVIEW ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN JULY 2008

Weighing In On Roman Polanski's The Ghost Writer

There are some movies I’ve never tired of watching. Each viewing yields new details, or a deeper appreciation of a story well told. Of writing John Gardner wrote, "Detail is the lifeblood of fiction." Certainly celluloid makes instantly vivid immense quantities of detail that words on paper would take pages to convey. But in film, many of the details are not simply for the creation of the fictional reality but serve to produce subliminal messages that reinforce the story's themes. In this regard, Roman Polanski is a master of the film arts.

For years Polanski’s harrowing Chinatown (Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway) has been one of those films I never tire of seeing. In his book Screenplay, screenwriting instructor Syd Field points to Chinatown as one of Hollywood’s most perfect films and worth studying in depth if one desires to learn the craft. I’ve not read the screenplay for The Ghost Writer, but as I watch once again this nail-biter suspense drama I’m swept away by those details.

For example, in one sequence Ewan McGregor is watching out the window as a man is attempting to sweep hay or brush into a wheelbarrow. There’s a strong wind, however, and the lightweight material keeps getting dispersed till the fellow gives up in futility. It’s only a few seconds in length, and totally unnecessary in terms of advancing the story, yet it telegraphs the entire film with no words whatsoever.

The main story line is about a writer (Ewan McGregor) who has been called in to complete the memoirs of former prime minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan) whose previous ghost writer was found washed up on a beach on the island where they are staying here in the U.S. It’s interesting that we never learn the ghost writer’s name. A few times Adam Lang addresses him as “man” – as in “hey man” or “good work, man” -- but any special feeling of comradery in thus addressing him is pinched away by another's explanation, “he always calls a person that when he can’t remember their name.”

Like Chinatown this film is about a man brought in contact with a situation in which he finds a loose thread that slowly unravels a mystery that is far too big and dark and potentially deadly. You know he's in over his head but you root for him, though each turn of the screw leaves you more uncomfortably anxious for his safety. And like Chinatown, you only have the hero's perspective so that as new information arises the ground shifts beneath his feet. Like the ghost writer, you yourself are uncertain who the good guys are.

It would be easy to compare this film to many a Hitchcock thriller in which a simple character is unexpectedly thrust into a much more dangerous and complicated situation than he first imagined. I think of The 39 Steps or Cary Grant in North By Northwest, or Jimmy Stewart and Doris Day in The Man Who Knew Too Much. With each new revelation tensions mount as our ghost writer begins to realize that he is now a man who knows too much. Yet, what does he know? He’s uncertain but somehow feels impelled to divine what it was that his predecessor knew.

Throughout I found this film pitch perfect. Next time you're looking around on Netflix or Blockbuster, check it out.

Featured eBook of the Day: Unremembered Histories