The Ghost Writer

The Ghost Writer, also known in the UK as The Ghost, is a 2010 political thriller based on a novel by Robert Harris.

An unremarkable ghost-writer has landed a lucrative contract to redact the memoirs of Adam Lang, the former UK Prime Minister (a Captain Ersatz of Tony Blair). After dominating British politics for years, Lang has retired with his wife to the USA. Soon, Adam Lang gets embroiled in a major scandal with international ramifications that reveals how far he was ready to go in order to nurture UK's "special relationship" with the USA. But before this controversy has started, before even he has closed the deal with the publisher, the ghost-writer gets unmistakable signs that the turgid draft he is tasked to put into shape inexplicably constitutes highly sensitive material.

Not to be confused with the children's television series Ghostwriter. See this article on That Other Wiki for an explanation about the word "ghostwriter".


 * Americans Are Morons: The original book is called The Ghost. The movie is called The Ghost in most regions. Apparently, Americans won't get that the movie is not a supernatural thriller, and that "the ghost" is a metaphor.
 * Bolivian Army Ending:
 * California Doubling: A portion of the film is set in Massachusetts, but the scenes were filmed in Germany.
 * Captain Ersatz: Adam Lang to Tony Blair
 * Also Condoleeza Rice to the US Secretary of State in this film.
 * CIA Evil, FBI Good: The first half of this is upheld.
 * Chekhov's Gun: The car.
 * Chekhov's Gunman:
 * Fridge Brilliance: He is a ghost, which is why we never got to know his name.
 * Also the reasons why
 * Fridge Logic: They could have avoided the danger of the writer stumbling onto things, simply by hiring a CIA-friendly author instead.
 * Gory Discretion Shot: The car accident.
 * GPS Evidence: An actual GPS device.
 * Google: Used by the ghost to find out more information about Paul Emmett.
 * Harsher in Hindsight: A prime minister in a political scandal, rumors of government sanctioned torture on suspected terrorists, secret flights and CIA involvement.
 * Hey, It's That Guy!: Remington Steele / James Bond is the former UK Prime Minister, married to Adelle DeWitt, cheating on her with Samantha Jones and Obi-Wan is writing his biography.
 * Tuco/Don Altobello is the old man that lives by the beach.
 * Karma Houdini:
 * Idiot Ball:
 * Hollywood New England: Used sparingly.
 * Hope Spot: The two guys that are following the Ghost to kill him reach the ferry ten seconds too late. No, wait...
 * Our ghost giving a toast after figuring out, and walking away victoriously.
 * Sure is awesome though.
 * Incredibly Obvious Tail: The black car after the ghost meets with Paul Emmette.
 * Jerkass: The ghost himself.
 * Make It Look Like an Accident: What the ghostwriter believes happened to his predecessor.
 * And what apparently also happened to someone who may have witnessed the crime.
 * The Mole:
 * Most Writers Are Writers
 * No Celebrities Were Harmed:
 * The US secretary of state in the film looks a lot like Condoleezza Rice
 * One of the scenes in the novel is a publishers' meeting where The Ghost gets the contract to write Adam Lang's memoirs. One of those present rants about how two of the UK's best selling novelists - "that ex-army psycho and the actress with the tits" - are ghost written. That ex-army psycho would be thriller writer Andy McNab, and the actress with the tits would be Katie Price, better known as Page Three Stunna Jordan.
 * No Name Given: We are never told the name of the protagonist. It actually becomes Fridge Brilliance.
 * The Oner: The paper passing from hand to hand until it reaches Ruth.
 * Secret Society Group Picture: Used with Everyone Went to School Together to help the Ghost connect the dots.
 * The book has less of a and is more ambiguous:
 * Stealth Pun: (while holding up a USB thumb drive) "We can get 100 books on here, and it can be copied in a flash!"
 * Straw Man Has a Point: Adam Lang's defence of the war on terror after the ghost confronts him with the evidence he's found.
 * Third-Act Stupidity: See Idiot Ball.
 * The War on Terror: The cause of Adam Lang's scandal.
 * Too Dumb to Live: So your predecessor in the job died in very suspicious circumstances, and the only witness has suffered an 'accident' that left her in a coma. After finding this out, the ghost writer not only doesn't run a very long way away, but decides to
 * Your Cheating Heart: Engaged in by both Langs, although Mrs. Lang appears to be motivated by revenge rather than any genuine attraction.
 * Third-Act Stupidity: See Idiot Ball.
 * The War on Terror: The cause of Adam Lang's scandal.
 * Too Dumb to Live: So your predecessor in the job died in very suspicious circumstances, and the only witness has suffered an 'accident' that left her in a coma. After finding this out, the ghost writer not only doesn't run a very long way away, but decides to
 * Your Cheating Heart: Engaged in by both Langs, although Mrs. Lang appears to be motivated by revenge rather than any genuine attraction.