Politics and Paranoia-The Ghost Writer

"The Ghost Writer" is reminiscent of those stark '70s political thrillers that were spawned by the corruption and mistrust of the Nixon administration, films like "The Parallax View", "Three Days of the Condor" or Coppola's "The Conversation". Roman Polanski's "The Ghost Writer", a taut, bleak thriller, finds it's paranoid inspiration from the evil-doings of the latest Bush administration. Fictionalized, of course, sort of. Just like in the seventies, you have to buy in to the premise that the government (in this case the American government) is capable of anything to protect it's own interests. Nixon and W. made this premise plausible. Of course Polanski might also have drawn his inspiration from the fact that he was a fugitive from justice for decades and was constantly chased by some form of American government that was out to get him (not so much paranoia as fact). Let's go with the first one just because it makes me happier to think of George Bush as a bad guy.
The ex Prime Minister of England is writing his memoirs and needs a new ghost writer. The last one turned up dead. There's something fishy about this particular death (literally, since he washed up on a New England beach like a halibut). Now the Prime Minister is being accused of war crimes and of being a stooge of the U.S. Government. Did I mention that the politics of this film is somewhat left of the ACLU? Pierce Brosnan, playing Tony Blair, oh, I mean a darkly handsome liberal ex Prime Minister, plays a mysterious cat and mouse game with the new ghost writer (Ewan MacGregor) who just wants his money and a release from the monastic seaside sanctuary where the Prime Minister, his wife and various aides are holed up while protesters scream for his head outside the gate. Paranoia ensues and intrigue abounds.
Ewan MacGregor (whose choice of material isn't always the sharpest) Pierce Brosnan and Kim Cattrall are all excellent as is the supporting cast. Even Jim Belushi, who is an awful actor, is decent here. Polanski returns to the taut, suspenseful story telling that made "Chinatown" and "Rosemary's Baby" such masterworks. "The Ghost Writer" isn't up to that level, but it is a good political thriller, perfect for watching on a rainy night with a bottle of wine, right around election time.