An okay thriller, but Polanski's done better.

Starts out in a pleasantly realistic manner, which allows for character based suspense building in the vain of good ol' Hitchcock (or Polanski himself for that matter). The whole thing gets a bit ... silly towards the end, and the final revelation/twist was pretty redundant. But still: One of the better thrillers in a long while.

Extremely underwhelming effort that can be praised for its solid acting and crisp directing, but little more. The story is so surprisingly straightforward that the lengthy attempts to build up tension are wasted, and by its conclusion you're just left wondering what the point was in it all. If you get stuck watching it one night you won't necessarily regret the experience, but I couldn't in good conscience recommend this to anybody.

witty and clever dialogues, wonderful colors, a perfectly composed soundtrack... one of the most enjoyable movies of 2010, I wonder why it had no nominations in any of these...

A few wry moments are not enough to overcome a bland and rather old-fashioned script (that is also quite silly). The strange quasi-America that Polanski is forced to create, and the odd absence of extras, do not help either, and give the movie the feeling of inhabiting an eerie alternative universe, but not an especially interesting one.

olivia williams was perfect casting, score was great, and some of the more suspenseful scenes were great, but the political angle wasn't very interesting and it dragged down the film's climax.

It's very good but at the same time doesn't present anything new or fresh to the conspiracy thrillers. The good thing is that it's Polanski.

Great. Cold, dark, and unsatisfying.

Very well paced political thriller that isn't particularly original but makes up for it with great execution.

Almost as good as this sort of intrigue-thriller gets. Jim Belushi and Tom Wilkinson are outstanding in supporting roles. It's not often enough that a film's score in and of itself alters the tone of a film as it does here (it usually only amplifies). Another example, for the sake of reference, is Jon Brion's bittersweet music for "Step Brothers."

Intelligent thriller with stunning moody cinematography and setting. Witty, gripping and highly entertaining.

Feckless story about very bad CIA guys that code all what stir. In the film didn't stir no one body or soul

Not overly impressed by this thriller, directed by Roman Polanski. It sure takes its time, therefore the introduction too long. The characterisation is not up to par, to contribute to the premise of the story. The acting overall is quite alright, especially by McGregor. The ending however is flat out slap stick, which for me, was the real downfall.

Very good.

Elegant and well-directed thriller about author hired to write the biography of a prominent politician, after the death of the previous biographer. The narrative flows without haste and dispensing melodramatic excesses, which may upset those who prefer intense action and a frenetic editing. The attitude of the hero in the film's ending is silly and makes no sense, but leads to one of the most beautiful and dark final sequences of recent years.

Shit, say what you want about Roman Polanski's personal life, but in a professional sense, he is and remains a filmmaker at the top of his game. Tightly-wound and smart, this is, plain and simple, a great political thriller. The real standout here is Olivia Williams: slap an award in her hand and start putting her in more films already. Score is not a grade.

A pretty middling adaptation of a mediocre book. The film spends too much time establishing that Adam Lang = Tony Blair, and doesn't get into the conspiracy theory stuff until nearly halfway through. But my biggest complaint is that The Ghost Writer never manages to establish the scale of the plot and just how much of impact it actually had. What are the stakes of this conspiracy being revealed? It's left for the viewer to assume almost everything, which makes for a bad political thriller.

Forgettable film. Unconvincing characters and uninteresting story line.

The master has another go at the familiar but fertile grounds of Frantic, and it's both more subtle/slow-burning and Hitchcockian/conspiratorial-to-the-point-of-absurdity. The tongue-in-cheek ending answers the ultimately outlandish unraveling wisely, allowing the more nuanced social commentary to shine. Camerawork is great, of course. Belushi (thankfully brief) and Cattrall are inexplicable as always. I like to think that Gordon Brown watched it and thought it was about him.

Swietny thriller

Instant classic thriller; CHINATOWN's storytelling savvy meets TENANT's sensibilities. Entire cast is explosive (from unusually fine and multi-faceted Brosnan, to the mad old man Wallach). Wilkinson, displaying more than a dash of Eli Cross is also a highlight, plus a great McGregor performance not seen since the late 90s. Many images are haunting (setup and execution of a key scene with Brosnan in particular); the incredible final shot will leave you gasping and chuckling in equal measure!

Mostly a very ordinary thriller, but a very effective one that is.