Roman Polanski's The Ghost Writer was rushed into theaters to make use of the word-of-mouth around the director's legal woes, but did Summit jump the gun in releasing what would have been a surefire Oscar contender had it been released later in the year? The film holds an 81% rating at RottenTomatoes and has the director's stamp all over it, but I don't see critical love carrying this one for Summit the way they were able to with The Hurt Locker. Good thing for Summit they are in the Twilight business and not in the Oscar-winning business or they would probably care.

The Ghost Writer is directed by Roman Polanski and the MPAA has rated it PG-13 for language, brief nudity/sexuality, some violence and a drug reference.

The cast includes Pierce Brosnan, Ewan McGregor, Kim Cattrall, Tom Wilkinson, Olivia Williams, James Belushi, Robert Pugh and Timothy Hutton.

When a successful British ghostwriter, THE GHOST, agrees to complete the memoirs of former British Prime Minister ADAM LANG, his agent assures him it’s the opportunity of a lifetime. But the project seems doomed from the start—not least because his predecessor on the project, Lang’s long-term aide, died in an unfortunate accident.

The Ghost flies out to work on the project, in the middle of winter, to an oceanfront house on an island off the U.S. Eastern seaboard. But the day after he arrives, a former British cabinet minister accuses Lang of authorizing the illegal seizure of suspected terrorists and handing them over for torture by the CIA—a war crime. The controversy brings reporters and protesters swarming to the island mansion where Lang is staying with his wife, RUTH, and his personal assistant (and mistress), AMELIA. As The Ghost works, he begins to uncover clues suggesting his predecessor may have stumbled on a dark secret linking Lang to the CIA—and that somehow this information is hidden in the manuscript he left behind. Was Lang in the service of the American intelligence agency while he was prime minister? And was The Ghost’s predecessor murdered because of the appalling truth he uncovered?

Resonating with topical themes, this atmospheric and suspenseful political thriller is a story of deceit and betrayal on every level— sexual, political and literary. In a world in which nothing, and no one, is as it seems, The Ghost quickly discovers that the past can be deadly—and that history is decided by whoever stays alive to write it.