A newly hired ghost writer uncovers more than he bargains for in the memoirs of the former British prime minister.

"They can't drown two ghost writers, for god's sake! You're not kittens."

When the man compiling the memoirs of former British prime minister washes up on shore in an apparent suicide, an unnamed ghost-writer (Ewan McGregor) is hired to finish the job. But even as the "ghost" uncovers a murky past, current events sweep him out of control and into a world far beyond his experience. Will he escape his predecessor's fate?

Roman Polanski brings this political thriller to vivid, if even-paced, life; stellar performances by Ewan McGregor and Olivia Williams make it (relatively) easy to overlook the inconsistencies of Brosnan and Catrall's otherwise-distracting accents. The film manages to build a tense undercurrent of suspicion with little outward effort: the story-line weaves without sinking into chaos, and the twists in plot are genuinely unexpected.

In short, 'The Ghost Writer' feels more like 'Cineuropa' than 'Hollywood', and that is never a bad thing. See this film if you liked the screen-adaptations of Stieg Larsson's "Millenium" novels -- but can't be bothered with the subtitles!