A Masterpiece - Gets better and more relevant every year
"The Ghost Writer"
was well received when it premiered in Feb. 2010,
but there was criticism because of seemingly "far-fetched plot twists"
(The Guardian).
Even I had problems to imagine that a conspiracy like that would be possible,
but I changed my mind in the last years...
Looking at the history of spy agencies, the Church-commitee (referenced in the movie) and especially Edward Snowden's whistleblowing everything seems possible now...
- We know now that the UK and the USA indeed work very closely together in terms of intelligence agencies ('Five Eyes'). By doing so, they are able to spy on their own citizens without breaking the laws.
- We know now that 'honey traps' and personal/sexual relationships are not uncommon tools of intelligence agencies to aquire 'human intel'.
A female C.I.A. agent to marry and manipulate a British politician who becomes the Prime Minister later, is in the realm of the possible.
- We know now that total US surveillance IS reality:
The first Ghostwriter didn't want to tell Rycart on the phone what he discovered and only said "It's in the beginnings...". This phone call must have been intercepted by the US agencies, who told Amelia (Kim Catrall) to take care of the manuscript because there might be a security risk, she said at the end.
The so-called 'far-fetched' conspiracy that "The Ghost writer" uncovers before he's killed seems more and more plausible, possible and realistic.
We are in the same position as 'The Ghost' (Ewan MacGregor) in the movie:
We only know what we see and have huge blind spots.
We never get the big picture.
'The Ghost Writer' represents the C.I.A. as the invisible ghostwriters of
international politics and history.
This is a great film, more relevant now than it ever was.
And: It's funny, moody and stylish.