Summit Entertainment

Former British Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan, left) enlists a nameless writer (Ewan McGregor) to write his memoirs in The Ghost Writer.

A GPS device figures prominently into one of many plots found in The Ghost Writer, a thriller from director Roman Polanski. And that’s convenient, because the gadget will also come in handy to keep track of the film’s many twists and turns. The Ghost Writer is based on Robert Harris’ script, adapted from his historical novel. Harris takes fairly current events and weaves a convoluted conspiracy theory, giving the film both an immediacy and a familiarity.