The Secret Agent
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Movie Reviews of The Secret Agent
Movie Review: I don't understand why people hate this movie.
Summary: 4 Stars
Christopher Hampton's "The Secret Agent" has received a great many hostile reviews on this website and elsewhere, and i don't know why. Except for the wobbliness of Patricia Arquette's performance (she's totally unconvincing in the film's first half, but very good in her final scenes with Bob Hoskins), this film strikes me as a lost gem. The atmosphere is alluringly dark and seedy, the music by modern master Philip Glass is a wonder, and the bulk of the cast--Hoskins, Christian Bale, Gerard Depardieu, Jim Broadbent, Eddie Izzard---is superb. Robin Williams, in an unbilled role as the most nihilistic of the terrorists, is absolutely terrifying; this is the best non-comedic performance I've ever seen him give. Unlike some other reviewers, I had no trouble with the frequent flashbacks, and the film's ending--in which Williams features prominently--is every bit as scary as that of "Fail-Safe," and for much the same reason. I have never read Conrad's original novel, but the film seems true to what I know of Conrad's style and moral vision. Personally, I think "The Secret Agent" is on a par with Hitchcock's "Sabotage," taken from the same source material. Only Patricia Arquette's missteps early in the film cause me to knock it down to four stars from five.Movie Review: The Secret Agent.
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this DVD for three reasons.
1. I knew everyone in the cast and all were excellent.
2. I love the music of Philip Glass.
3. I like this movie very much.
Movie Review: An Underrated Film
Summary: 3 Stars
Although this film has gotten some terrible reviews, it is well executed overall, and as faithful an adaptation of Conrad's story as you're likely to see. It is let down a bit by slow pacing and a very wooden performance by Patricia Arquette, but the rest of the cast is fine, especially an unbilled Robin Williams, who normally bothers me. I recommend THE SECRET AGENT mainly to those who are familiar with the original story, and those who enjoy British period melodrama. The DVD is of fine quality and played with no problems on my machine.Movie Review: The Boredom Agent.
Summary: 2 Stars
The Secret Agent (Christopher Hampton, 1996)
Ponderous adaptation of the Joseph Conrad novel that never really gets off the ground as the thriller it wants to be. Hampton is a serviceable screenwriter (along these same lines, he was responsible for the script for Phillip Noyce's adaptation of The Quiet American six years later), but his directorial career has been infrequent, with long gaps between projects; this may be an indication of why.
Verloc (Bob Hoskins) is a double agent, working both as a spy for Russia and an informant for the British police force in nineteenth-century London. He's doing well raking in cash from both sides of the dangerous game he's playing until Russia changes its ambassador to England. The new chap wants to see some actual results from Verloc's attempts to undermine the British government, so Verloc hatches a plan that involves his wife Winnie (Patricia Arquette)'s mentally challenged brother Stevie (Christian Bale) and a bomb provided for the operation by a shady anarchist known only as The Professor (Robin Williams in an uncredited role). Murphy's Law strikes, however, and Verloc's life is irreparably shaken up as a result.
Hampton assembled a phenomenal cast for this (aside from those mentioned above, one will find Gerard Depardieu, Jim Broadbent, and Eddie Izzard on display) and then didn't give any of them a great deal to do. While this approach did work well in Wayne Wang's Smoke, The Secret Agent is an entirely different beast altogether; things actually are supposed to go on here, but they rarely do. Of all Conrad's novels, The Secret Agent seems as if it would actually be the easiest to film; no one, however, has yet succeeded in filming an adaptation of it worth watching. You can tune into this one for the cast, but don't expect much. **
Movie Review: Alright
Summary: 2 Stars
A nostalgic sleepy and literate period piece spy drama that periodically captures your attention when least expected. Not as stimulating as one could imagine but nevertheless credible.
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