A competent thriller that handles it's case well and manages to have quite a surprising twist at the end, without feeling too contrived.
Ewan McGregor is a ghost writer who suspects foul play on the part of his client (Pierce Brosnan) after he discoverers that his predecessor died in questionable circumstances. The setting is very grey and bleak. It feels so much like home (Aberdeen, in the east of Scotland - actually, it's like all of Scotland) so it puts
me in a good mood while watching it, which I don't think was the
intention, but that's a personal preference so its not a fault of the
movies. The walk on the beach scene is good, the wide open space contrasts with the closed in feeling that is achieved by the close camera shots near their faces and the ever present security guard behind them.
There are several nice little touches like that. There is an awesome office in the beach house, with a floor to ceiling window running along one half of the wall behind McGregor, with the other half being closely packed slate and bookshelves. If I had the money...
Ewan's acting is mostly good, but sometimes a little hammed. I don't think he needed to talk out loud to himself quite so often, and for such obvious reasons. I cant tell weather he is just not as great an actor as I thought he was, or if he is meant to be a little awkward (he's English in this, right? Aren't they all meant to be a bit awkward in American movies?) Brosnan is obviously a parody of Blair, sucking up to Americans and committing war crimes - only in this he's being prosecuted.
Pretty great overall. Not perfect, but a perfectly watchable. Slow paced at times, but ultimately a very entertaining thriller.
The Ghost Writer: 52.5