Strong cast makes 'Ghost Writer' compelling thriller

THE GHOST WRITER — ★★★ — Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Olivia Williams; rated PG-13 (profanity, violence, brief nudity, brief sex, slurs, brief drugs, brief gore, torture, vulgarity); in general release

It's unfortunate that "The Ghost Writer" bears Roman Polanski's name.

That likely means this adaptation of Robert Harris' bestselling novel probably won't be judged on its own merits.

For example, some people might reject it without seeing it simply based on the controversial filmmaker's ongoing, unpleasant legal predicament.

Others — fans of Polanski — would probably expect it to be more than it is, based on his established track record. (Among his films is the Oscar-winning 2002 movie "The Pianist" and the acclaimed "Chinatown.")

And again, that really is unfortunate, because "The Ghost Writer' is a decent little mystery-thriller with some smarts and a good cast.

Ewan McGregor stars as the title character. (We never learn this character's real name; he's referred to by most people as "The Ghost.")

He has been asked to help write the memoirs of Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan), a disgraced former British prime minister who is now living in semi-exile in the United States.

The Ghost's predecessor turned up dead, under mysterious circumstances. And if that isn't bad enough, he gets caught in a power struggle between the two women in Lang's life — his wife, Ruth (Olivia Williams), and his personal assistant, Amelia Bly (Kim Cattrall).

The film is not without its problems, which include Cattrall's unnecessary, unconvincing and only intermittent accent, as well as a few convenient and/or contrived plot developments.

But there are some tense sequences, as well, particularly those involving politics and related intrigue, which really crop up in the film's final third.

Also, McGregor makes us care about a character who's a cipher, while Brosnan and Williams have effective moments.

And the terrific supporting cast includes Tom Wilkinson as a shadowy former classmate of Lang's, a nearly unrecognizable James Belushi as a publisher, Timothy Hutton as a possibly duplicitous attorney, and, briefly, Eli Wallach.

"The Ghost Writer" is rated PG-13 and features strong profanity, some of it sexual in nature (two uses of the so-called "R-rated" curse word), some brief but strong violent content (a mugging, gunplay and a shooting, and some vehicular mayhem), brief nudity (partial male nudity and some nude statues), a brief sex scene (mostly implied), derogatory language and slurs, brief drug content (marijuana use, seen in a photo and also referenced), brief bloody imagery, images that depict torture, and other off-color talk and references (including slang). Running time: 128 minutes.

e-mail: jeff@desnews.com