The Ghost Writer
Summit Distribution | Release Date: February 19, 2010 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
77
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 35 Critic Reviews
Positive:
30
Mixed:
5
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
The Ghost Writer is the kind of impeccable adult entertainment, able to alternate edge-of-your-seat episodes with bleakly comic moments, that Hitchcock used to specialize in and that Polanski himself realized so successfully in "Chinatown" and "Rosemary's Baby." Read full review
100
Wall Street JournalJohn Anderson
The Ghost Writer is so rich you may feel you paid too little for your ticket when the whole thing meets its very Polanski-ish climax. Please don't tell anyone. Read full review
100
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
This movie is the work of a man who knows how to direct a thriller. Smooth, calm, confident, it builds suspense instead of depending on shock and action. Read full review
100
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
Here's another thought: This old man who can't leave the house has just made the first important film of 2010. Read full review
90
SlateDana Stevens
The Ghost Writer is a triumph: elegant, accomplished, and (this is the hardest part to admit) occasionally even wise. Read full review
90
The New YorkerDavid Denby
An extraordinarily precise and well-made political thriller--the best thing Polanski has done since the seventies, when he brought out the incomparable “Chinatown” and the very fine “Tess.” Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter Travers
All credit to a finely tuned Brosnan for packing so much intensity and wayward wit into his scenes with McGregor. Their verbal duels make for a dazzling game of cat-and-mouse. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
Polanski turns a conventional conspiracy thriller into a triumph of tone, ensemble playing and atmospheric menace. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Satisfying, melancholy political suspense story. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
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 denouement to a life and career of unsettling resonance. Read full review
83
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
The Ghost Writer is minor Polanski but it’s one of the rare thrillers these days that plays up to you instead of down. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
Ferrific fun and rousing proof that there’s still vital life in an aging master filmmaker. Read full review
83
Tampa Bay TimesSteve Persall
If he made The Ghost Writer under a pseudonym, it might be roundly hailed as the classy white-knuckler it is. But it's Polanski's name above the title, with his own ghosts haunting each frame. Read full review
80
Time OutKeith Uhlich
Polanski has made a genre piece with a verve and vitality that’s in sadly short supply. Read full review
80
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
Mr. Polanski’s work with his performers is consistently subtle even when the performances seem anything but, which is true of this very fine film from welcome start to finish. Read full review
80
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
The result is a tight, taut, witty and highly theatrical entertainment, shot in shades of wintry gray, that will keep you guessing right through its final fadeout. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill Goodykoontz
Polanski builds suspense slowly, exquisitely. It's not a matter of shocking the audience, although there are surprises, but of creating an ever-growing sense of dread. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
The Ghost Writer hasn’t the complexity or breadth of such stunners as "Chinatown" or "The Pianist," but it is nevertheless a solidly built little roundelay of intrigue with a veracity that seems torn from newspaper headlines. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
As with most political thrillers, The Ghost Writer emphasizes plot development and atmosphere over action. It's an "adult" thriller as opposed to one designed for viewers suffering from ADD. Read full review
75
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Marked by clever twists and turns, the story unfolds at just the right pace. The dialogue -- adapted by Polanski and British writer Robert Harris from Harris' novel The Ghost-- is incisive and interspersed with wit. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Loaded with Hitchcockian hugger-mugger, this is a genre Polanski clearly revels in. Read full review
75
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
Offers an unusually astute glimpse of power at its most alluring and corrosive. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe Williams
As an exercise in craft, it's surprisingly successful, thanks to the strong cast and the vivid depiction of a modern leader's security apparatus. But as a political statement or personal drama, The Ghost Writer is nearly invisible. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy Burr
In Polanski’s hands, it’s an unholy pleasure: a diversion that stings. Read full review
70
Boxoffice MagazineRay Greene
If it is possible to watch this work as a movie rather than using it as a referendum on its maker’s guilt or innocence, the audience that craves mature, sophisticated and grown-up entertainment will find much to admire here. Read full review
70
Village VoiceNicolas Rapold
Saved by often delightfully bitchy British dialogue. Read full review
70
TimeRichard Corliss
We should hail a movie that recalls creepy political thrillers of the mid-'70s, back when some films were made for grownups and the comfortable catharsis of a happy ending was not required -- think of the panoramically cryptic worldview of "The Parallax View" and "Three Days of the Condor," and of course, "Chinatown." Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
This is a polished, palatable intrigue, with a knockout performance from Olivia Williams as the PM's hardened wife and a highly persuasive one from Kim Cattrall, cast against type as his buttoned-up personal assistant. But the mystery is unraveled a bit too conveniently. Read full review
63
ObserverSara Vilkomerson
Has moments of heart-pounding suspense and brief glimmers of greatness, thanks to fine performances by Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan and Olivia Williams, but overall feels uneven, sprawling and strangely incomplete. Read full review
63
Orlando SentinelRoger Moore
It’s not one of Polanski’s masterpieces, but The Ghost Writer doesn’t dilute his reputation as a master of suspense. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
This is a slicker, shallower exercise. It's hypnotic as it unfolds, but once the credit roll frees you from its grip, it doesn't bear close scrutiny. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Despite the packed plot adapted by Polanski and Robert Harris from Harris' novel -- the pacing feels oddly slack. Read full review
50
VarietyDerek Elley
What the picture most needed was a complete cinematic rethink and, yes, even some action to move it along. Read full review
50
New York PostKyle Smith
Although the movie is reasonably suspenseful for a while and has a few witty moments (of a first draft, the ghost says, "All the words are there. They're just in the wrong order"), it rings false. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
The result is a political thriller refreshingly long on grown-up dialogue yet lamentably shy on, well, thrills. This chatty thing does go on. Read full review
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