Roman Polanski is a master of thematic suspense. He knows exactly what to show you, and how to utilize tension that is barely there. Take for instance a scene where a character (who is in over his head) goes for a drive. The audience keeps looking around, waiting for the release that will never come. The Ghost Writer is the perfect example of the overused saying; it is not what we see that scares us, it is what we don’t.

The Ghost Writer is a story ,first and foremost, of political intrigue. It has familiar tropes such as: no one can be trusted and nothing is what it seems, but it also allows these concepts to exist in a real world setting. No character is overly exhausted by fear, or even frantic to the point of extreme paranoia, they are just dealing with struggles of their daily life. Of course with the exception that these are some gigantic struggles.

Ewan McGregor plays an unnamed protagonist who is assigned to write former British Prime Minister Adam Lang’s (Pierce Brosnan) memoirs after his the previous writer turns up dead. The Ghost (as McGregor is credited) travels to Lang’s getaway home in Martha’s Vinyard right as Lang is indicted for war crimes and is unable to return to England. While there, The Ghost deals with Lang’s fed up wife (Olivia Williams) and his faithful assistant (Kim Cattrall), while slowly uncovering truths left behind by the first ghost.

All around the performances are stellar. So much of the acting revolves around what is not spoken (much like the story itself), and there is an eerie silence in every scene. With a glance here and a nod there, the audience is left putting the emotional puzzle together. McGregor is back in top form after a string of bad movies and merely capable acting in films like the following: Deception, The Men Who Stare at Goats, and Angels and Demons. However, it is Pierce Brosnan who truly shines in this film. He plays Lang as a man filled with guilt ridden angst, but also a man who will never apologize for who he is or what he has done. There is a wonderful scene on a private jet where Brosnan is able to belittle McGregor’s whole journey with only his confidence and a hearty laugh. It is one of the best scenes of the year. Kim Cattrall and Oliva Williams also put in great work, especially Williams who displays her sadness like a protective shield hiding anything she isn’t ready to let out.

A lot has been said of Roman Polanski and his personal saga through life. I will not dive into any of that in this review, but I will say I found a handful of parallels to Polanski in the form of Lang. Both men are full of past mistakes and regrets, constantly longing for the day that these will be forgotten. The world will never let them leave them behind so all they can do is look ahead and throw themselves into work (or in Polanski’s case, his art).

The Ghost Writer is an exceptional thriller, and one of the best films of 2010. As I sat in awe of the beautifully haunting last shot, all I wanted to do was watch the film again. Revisit Polanski’s greats such as, Repulsion, Rosemary’s Baby, Chinatown, The Ninth Gate ( a personal favorite), and The Pianist and add this to the list.