The art of ghostwriting, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is to write for another who is the presumed author. However, the ghostwriter (Ewan McGregor) for disgraced Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan) is left with no such simple task. Following the death of his predecessor, he must revise a lackluster manuscript and eventually piece together the real story of Lang’s life in Roman Polanski’s political thriller, “The Ghost Writer.”

After meeting with his agent in London, Lang’s ghostwriter, who is only referred to as “the ghost” throughout the film, reluctantly agrees to fly to Martha’s Vineyard to work with Lang on his memoirs. Arriving amidst allegations that Lang illegally seized suspected terrorists in Pakistan and allowed the CIA to use waterboarding techniques to torture them, he only wants to get down to the business of writing the book and staying out of Lang’s political crossfire.

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