The Ghost Writer (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the score album to the 2010 film of the same name directed by Roman Polanski. Featuring musical score composed by Alexandre Desplat, it was released through Varèse Sarabande on 23 February 2010. The film marked the maiden collaboration between Polanski and Desplat, who would later collaborate on forthcoming films thereafter.
Thom Jurek of AllMusic assigned two-and-a-half out of five and wrote "As film music, this works wonderfully; as listening fare, it's a tad monotonous because of its predictable dynamics and pacing."
Dana Stevens of Slate wrote "[Desplat's] music for The Ghost Writer, full of Bernard Herrmann-esque arpeggios and tinkling bells, is at once witty and genuinely suspenseful." Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter wrote "Alexandre Desplat's music prowls around underneath the scenes, channeling Bernard Herrmann's music for [Alfred] Hitchcock". Kenneth Turan of Los Angeles Times wrote "Alexandre Desplat's driving score reminds us from its opening moments of the dynamic compositions of Hitchcock composer of choice Bernard Herrmann".
Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine wrote "The score, by the great Alexandre Desplat, is racked with as much tension as Polanski's prismatically askew images, notable for their remarkably absorbing depth of field." Fionnuala Halligan of Screen Daily wrote "Desplat's score is a delicious through line". Mick LaSalle of SFGate wrote "Alexandre Desplat's cheerful musical score, which sounds like something for a 1960s romantic comedy, is in sync with Polanski's vision. It keeps pulling us back, too, inviting us to watch from a critical distance."