POLANSKI’S GHOST WRITER A HIT WITH CRITICS
Embattled director ROMAN POLANSKI has scored a victory with his latest mo= vie THE GHOST WRITER - the film has secured rave reviews following its pr= emiere at the Berlin film festival in Germany.
The political thriller starring Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan premie= red on Friday (12Feb10) and is one of 20 movies up for the prized Golden = Bear award for best picture.
The Oscar-winning filmmaker is currently under house arrest at his Swis= s chalet and did not attend the premiere. He pleaded guilty to a charge o= f unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977 - but he fled the U.S. bef= ore his sentence could be passed. He was held by officials in Zurich last= year (09) and placed under house arrest. Last month (22Jan10), a Los Ang= eles judge ruled he must return to America to face sentencing.
Polanski refused to let his legal woes disrupt the project, and complet= ed post-production on the film while in prison and under house arrest in = Switzerland. And now he is an early frontrunner for the Golden Bear accol= ade - which he also won in 1966 for Cul-de-Sac.
A Times of London critic lauded the film: "With this immensely enjoyabl= e, satisfyingly convoluted thriller he demonstrates exactly why he is sti= ll a force to be reckoned with. From the opening scene it is clear Polans= ki had complete control, whether or not he was behind bars when he finish= ed it." A reviewer from The Hollywood Reporter described the thriller as "slee= k" and "hypnotic," while a critic from British newspaper The Guardian add= s: "This is his most purely enjoyable picture for years, a Hitchcockian n= ightmare with a persistent, stomach-turning sense of disquiet, brought of= f with confidence and dash." The Berlin film festival awards ceremony is scheduled for 20 February (= 10).
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