The Ghost Writer

Polanski infuses the action with the quality of a waking nightmare. He has the capacity to take a simple shot of a ship coming into harbor and give...

A well-made, sleekly retaliatory, pleasurably paranoid tale…

The Ghost Writer is minor Polanski but it’s one of the rare thrillers these days that plays up to you instead of down.

Polanski’s most enjoyable film for a very long time.

Polanski at 76 provides a reminder of directors of the past who were raised on craft, not gimmicks, and depended on a deliberate rhy...

'The Ghost Writer' is a crisp and intelligent thriller, carried off with silky panache by its smooth, skillful director.

In the total context of Polanski’s hard life and grim ordeals … The Ghost Writer constitutes a miracle of artistic and psychological res...

You’re likely to be drawn in by the film’s sleek elegance alone and forget about its mysterious underpinnings.

From the second it begins, The Ghost Writer signals directorial authority and precision, subtly codifying the film’s existential style and su...

Another director would almost certainly have bobbled this devilish mixture of paperback suspense, political chicanery, and jet-black comedy. In Pol...

The best thing I’ve seen so far this year.

Mr. Polanski is a magician, his movie a synthesis of Mr. Harris’s sturdy narrative, a Mamet-like appreciation for the shadows that...

This is the 76-year-old Polanski’s first contemporary thriller in two decades and his first film in four years. It’s an intelligent and...

A tight, taut, witty and highly theatrical entertainment, shot in shades of wintry gray, that will keep you guessing right through its final fadeout.

Polanski is in total command of his medium, something that hasn’t been a sure thing since the 1970s, The Pianist notwithstanding.

The Ghost Writer is a reminder that, regardless of his real-life problems, Roman Polanski can still craft compelling thrillers.

The Ghost Writer may not go down as one of Polanski’s masterpieces, but if it does end up being his swan song, it’s the ideal denouemen...

The intrigues, suspense, and reversals that follow this setup are best left to unfold at their own stately clip.

Brosnan, long past his James Bond days, has ripened as an actor; he’s outstanding.

Whether or not Polanski fully grasps the moral of his own excellent film remains to be seen.

It’s a brilliantly made, paranoid, leftish political thriller. And it’s also the first great film of the year.

The best thing Polanski has done since the seventies, when he brought out the incomparable Chinatown and the very fine Tess.

The dialogue and suspense created by director Polanski are first rate. You will enjoy this film.

What actually happens is less important than the barest glimmers of that old Polanski magic.

Polanski has made a genre piece with a verve and vitality that’s in sadly short supply.

Doesn’t demand much from the viewer, but its smart dialogue, nimble syncopations, and tricky suspense are – while you’re there in...

Ghost Writer suggests a game of chess played delicately and with great precision.

A dark pearl of a movie whose great flair and precision make it Polanski’s best work in quite a while.