The Ghost Writer (2010) on Netflix
PG-1320102h 8mCrimeDramaMysteryThriller
A British ghostwriter is hired to finish the memoirs of former prime minister Adam Lang. His predecessor drowned, and the writer suspects he is not being told the whole story.
- Netflix3.3/5
- IMDb7.2/10177,651 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes84%
Trailer
Plot summary
The Ghost, a British ghostwriter with little experience in political writing, is hired to finish the memoirs of Adam Lang, a former British prime minister, after Lang's aide Mike McAra drowns off the ferry to Old Haven, the island where Lang is staying. Lang shares the compound with his wife Ruth and his assistant Amelia Bly, and the writer works from McAra's unfinished draft. Whether the drowning was suicide, an accident or murder is not settled, and the writer fears the same fate. He is certain that Lang, Ruth and Amelia Bly are not telling him the whole story of Lang's life. Demonstrators on the island protest Lang's presence.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Ghost Writer (2010)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- On his way to the Zurich Film Festival, Roman Polanski was arrested by Swiss police in September 2009 at the request of the US and held for extradition; he resumed and completed post-production from house arrest at his Swiss villa, and was unable to attend the film's world premiere at the Berlinale.
- For the US theatrical release the dialogue was censored and re-dubbed with tamer language to meet the Motion Picture Association's qualifications for a PG-13 rating; that censored version was also used for the US DVD and Blu-ray, while most international releases kept the uncensored one.
- Although set on Martha's Vineyard and in London, the film was shot in Germany: exteriors were filmed on the island of Sylt, the house at the center of the story was built on Usedom, and Strausberg Airport near Berlin stood in for the Vineyard airport.
- In June 2008 Nicolas Cage, Pierce Brosnan, Tilda Swinton and Kim Cattrall were announced as the stars, but production was postponed by a number of months, and as a result Ewan McGregor and Olivia Williams replaced Cage and Swinton respectively.
- Pierce Brosnan's character Adam Lang has echoes of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and the author of the book on which the film is based has said he was inspired at least in part by anger toward Blair's policies, having called for him to face war crimes trials.
- Robert Pugh, who portrayed former British Foreign Secretary Richard Rycart, and Mo Asumang, who played the US Secretary of State, both physically resemble their real-life counterparts, Robin Cook and Condoleezza Rice.
