10 Movie Characters Who Died In The Final Shot

Roman Polanski's tightly wound political thriller The Ghost Writer follows an unnamed ghost writer (Ewan McGregor) who is hired to complete an autobiography of former British Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan).

The Ghost, as he's credited, soon enough uncovers some extremely unsavoury findings about Lang, but before anything can be brought to light, Lang is assassinated.

The Ghost is asked to finish the book to commemorate Lang's life, and the film ends with him attending the book launch, where he discovers a secret message in the book's original manuscript, revealing that Lang's wife Ruth (Olivia Williams) is the real villain.

The Ghost reveals to Ruth that he knows this, but as he leaves the party and disappears off-screen, a car quickly accelerates in his direction and runs him down.

We don't see the Ghost's corpse, but the implication is clear, made even more devastating as we see the pages of the incriminating manuscript blow away in the wind, ensuring the secret will never be made public.