Monday, March 1, 2010
News Spoiler questions, now that we've seen The Ghost Writer
Posted by Curt Holman @Curt_Holman on Mon, Mar 1, 2010 at 6:55 PM
Where a thriller like Shutter Island leaves audiences with a minimum of possible explanations, The Ghost Writer isn't nearly as clear cut. Screenwriters Robert Harris (adapting his novel) and Roman Polanski withhold considerable information from the audience's surrogate, the unnamed ghost writer played by Ewan McGregor. The film's mysteries and conspiracies resemble a puzzle with missing pieces, and figuring them out amounts to reviewing what we know, and when we know it.
1. Before diving into the spoilers, Is The Ghost Writer a Roman Polanski apologia? Unlikely. In the film, English ex-Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan) faces disgrace and a public outcry due to the international court's accusation of war crimes. The director occupies a similar position as a celebrity sex offender, surrounded by paparazzi, with limits on his international travel. An angry father serves as a recurring, accusatory figure, but it's hard to connect the Lang role to the Polanski case, especially given that the Lang character avoids the subject of his misdeeds, whether to admit culpability or make justifications. It's interesting that Polanski includes a shot of Lang looking at the ocean while leaning against a window, as if about to be frisked.
2. What's the most obvious explanation of what happened? The Ghost Writer's big reveal turns out to be even cornier than Shutter Island's anagrams: Mike McAra, McGregor's deceased predecessor, left clues in the first word of each chapter of Lang's memoirs that claimed that Lang's wife Ruth was a CIA operative ever since they met. Presumably Ruth nudged her husband into politics -- Lang refers to her as his most trusted adviser --and could have prompted him to make decisions in the U.S. interests at every opportunity. McAra was killed to silence him, and McGregor's character was presumably killed off-camera in the film's final shot.
3. Were the ghost writers really murdered? By keeping so much of the violence out of sight, The Ghost Writer leaves questions of culpability tantalizingly vague. According to Eli Wallach's crusty witness, McAra's body, which either fell or was thrown off the ferry, should not have washed up where it did, and another witness (now comatose) claimed to have seen mysterious figures with flashlights that night. So someone could have kidnapped McAra from the ferry (or elsewhere) and left him on the beach, which seems unnecessarily contrived. We can only assume McGregor was fatally hit by a car in the final shot -- we hear the sounds of an accident, and see manuscript papers scattered to the winds - but it could've been an accident, or not even lethal. But the only crime we definitely see, apart from Lang's assassination, is McGregor's mugging.
4. Why did McAra visit Emmet before his death? The ghost writer discovers, thanks to a convenient GPS memory in McAra's car, that his predecessor visited professor Paul Emmet (Tom Wilkinson) as his "final destination" before falling/being pushed off the ferry. The ghostwriter retraces McAra's paper/Internet trail that Emmet was a CIA operative who recruited at least one of the Langs. But McAra already knew Emmet's connection to Ruth: he presumably put the clues in the chapters well before his death. So did he actually see Emmet on his last day alive? If so, why?
4. What do the Langs know? Adam Lang has only a few scenes in the movie, and he scoffs at the ghost writer's accusation that Paul Emmet recruited the future politician as a member of the CIA. He could be lying, he could be innocent or he could know that he's not in the CIA, but that his wife was: that could have been the subject of his argument with McAra before McAra's death. Ruth proves a brooding, brittle figure throughout the film, and seems initially upset at Lang's political misfortunes, then enraged at her husband for having an affair with the Kim Cattrall character. But does she have a guilty conscience? Does she know of McAra's accusations? Does she blame herself for McAra's death? Did it happen at her orders? And could she have slept with McGregor's character to misdirect him from the same revelation?
5. Was Lang's murder part of the conspiracy? Lang is killed by a British military veteran outraged at his son's death in "Lang's war," and is presented as a lone gunman type. Could he be in actuality a government hit man intended to silence Lang for reasons that the ghost writer never knows? We don't know, but the timing's certainly suspicious, isn't it?
6. Is there even a conspiracy? Is it possible that McAra and McGregor's character are following a wild goose chase? That both of their deaths are accidents, and that Emmett, however suspicious he may seem, has no covert connection to the Langs? Mysterious goons follow the ghost writer, who ditches a pair of suspicious customers on the ferry, but we don't really know their intentions. When McGregor's character confronts Lang with his theory, he says of one of his facts, "It's on the Internet!" which isn't exactly ironclad evidence.
Comments (11)
Showing 1-11 of 11
Great, all seems much more clear now, I saw the movie yesterday night and when I came out of the cinema, I was wondering what the hell had Polanski done with that movie. I'm quite disappointed I had to search on the internet to get my questions answered, but well, thanks !
like
dislike
One question I have: any ideas on who steals the manuscript McGregor receives from the lawyer, Sidney?
The original piece of evidence that initiates the Ghost’s journey into the conspiracy rabbit hole is that Adam Lang became politically minded nearly 2 years prior to meeting Ruth. The timing of which discredits his account that Ruth knocked on his door and he become involved with her cause to get into her pants. So if Ruth was not a factor in the origins of his political career but the final revelation is that Ruth Lang joined the CIA while at Harvard, this provides no explanation to the original question that started the search, “Why did Adam Lang get into Politics?” I also agree with earlier comments, Googling a conspiracy search phrase will inevitably lead one to the confirmation they’re searching for. Emmet’s link to the CIA is never validated in the film. Overall, I felt like this was once long BMW/Google commercial and had the content of a Tom Clancy creative journal assignment in the third grade.
But it was beautifully shot and edited. The score was quite nice too.
I watched it twice - didn't really need to and didn't pay as much attention the 2nd time, but I did notice at the end - something I missed the first time - as "the ghost" walks down the street and out of sight, down at the far end of the road you see car lights come on, then that car comes speeding down the street and goes rushing by, then 2 seconds later you hear the crash. So his death was not an accident.
I actually liked this movie for its "moody, brooding, dark" feeling, such as an English mystery set on the Moors.......
I even liked the ending as it was such a shock.......I did NOT, however, like the fact that I really didn't know what had been going on, who was guilty and who wasn't, who was murdered or who had accidents, who was doing the chasing and why, etc. etc...........I like a good mystery but I prefer it to be solved at the end...........
Thanks a lot. it really helped me understand the film but I have a question: Did Amelia Bly invited the ghost writer because she wanted to, or it was in order to assassinate him? or maybe Ruth told someone that the ghost writer knows all about her???
[spoiler warning]Does anyone have an opinion on whether or not the the book that was published included the code that Ruth was a CIA op? I assume he edited it out, but it isn't clear.
this is what i thought was going on...but i only caught the last 17 minutes or so..lol right before ghost rider gets on the private jet with lang so i had to know for sure. aaand that last 17 minutes apparently really summed up the whole movie. glad i didn't sit through the whole thing lol
i understand the movie but i still have alot of questions..i just wish i could meet the director and the cast personally so i could have all my questions answered and get it over with..im always watching the movie hoping my questions will be answered if i keep watching it and find more clues everytime but i dont..my goodness i love this movie!! its amazing!!;o ..but thanks for explaining somewhat of what i was looking for..
p.s. ewan is my fave actor!! he's so convincing with his characters!!
Latest in Fresh Loaf
-
Time and Place: Read between the lines
To me this photo is about doing your own thing and following your own path in life.
-
Vernon Jones wants to return to the Gold Dome and other interesting qualification tidbits 2
Qualifying period ends, dust settles, campaigns begin
-
Suspects in Pittsburgh gay bashing slated to go to trial Tuesday
The men accused of beating Brandon White in Southwest Atlanta already headed to court
- More »
More by Author
-
"Justified," Season 3, Episode 7
Raylan will never be Employee of the Month at this rate.
-
How Ashima Franklin becomes "a beast" on stage
Nicknamed "Skinny Fine," the live-wire Atlanta comedian braces herself for the big time.
- More »
