An All Too Realistic Thriller
Added 4/2/2009
Hidden Agenda has been on my list of films to see for a long time now. As a fan of the political thriller genre I was intrigued by its premise. Now, having finally found it and had the opportunity to see it I was presently surprised. The film surpassed my expectations and easily ranks amongst the best political thrillers I've seen.
The performances are the staring point of this phenomenal film. Frances McDormand gives a marvelous performance as American civil rights activist Ingrid Jessner as Brian Cox as Kerrigan, the top investigator investigating the death of Jessner's boyfriend. The result is that, together and separately, they give two highly watchable performances that keep your attention focused on the screen. There's also the supporting cast including Brad Dourif as the murdered boyfriend, Maurice Roëves as the mysterious army officer Harris who has all the secrets plus Bernard Archard and Patrick Kavanagh as two politicians at the heart of the film's conspiracy.
The film is, if nothing else, a conspiracy thriller. What may seem like an odd murder in Northern Ireland soon turns out to be mired in the politics of Thatcher era Britain. The film, while fictional, seems to be far too real for comfort. Writer Jim Allen has crafted a thriller that blends fact and fiction together and so well that the fine line between the two is blurred when it comes to the issues of 1980's Northern Ireland, how Thatcher got herself elected and how governments deal with terrorism. Of even greater surprise is that the plot doesn't overwhelm the dialogue. Unlike some political thrillers, in this film scenes come alive not just from the performances of the actors but from the words on the pages themselves. While it deals with 1980's Northern Ireland one can't help but see the relevant issues ever present in the film nearly twenty years on.
On top of the script there's the documentary like approach that makes the film too realistic for comfort. Clive Tickner's cinematography is the main reason this succeeds so well in that it never feels like a Hollywood film. The result is that (thankfully) one gets the feeling of being a fly on the wall for many of the scenes which makes the blurring of fact and fiction even more successful. Add on the realistic costume and production design along with the tight editing of Jonathon Morris and the result is an all too realistic thriller.
Hidden Agenda is what a political thriller should be. With its combination of fantastic performances, well written script, its realistic design work and especially its documentary like cinematography make it too realistic to be ignored. While it may deal with 1980's Britain in Northern Ireland it's a thriller with a message too strong to be ignored. It's a first rate and a must see for fans of the genre of the political thriller.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Intelligent thriller
Added 3/25/2008
Obviously when a movie sets out to be a thriller about Northern Ireland with British secret service people bugging, stalking, and shooting down folks in the street, alot of people will get angry with its politics-as can be seen from some of the reviews.
But it is an excellent thriller. Loach is a great director, and he really gets the pace of it right (i felt uncomfortable for the entire duration-a mark of a good thriller!) The ending was a little abrupt, but in retrospect probably the only realistic way of doing it (unless you want Margaret Thatcher to jump out and blow every one away with a semi-automatic). I'd definitely recommend this one.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Purports to take the audience behind the scenes at the highest levels of political intrigue, but the creators of this movie don't have the IQ or background to pull it off.
A quick-to-describe example of the whole is how they present the character whose murder kicks off the plot. We're told that he's a first-rate lawyer from the USA. But there's not the slightest hint of mental acuity in anything he does. We're left with just the writer's word for it.
And that's how the plot works, too. The progress of the protagonists through the investigation is unearned, just dumped in their laps.
Lacking insight, uninspired.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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I found this film one of the worst I have seen in quite some time, and watched it because I enjoyed the director's "The Wind That Shakes the Barley." It's an implausible conspiracy-theory flick with the troubles in Northern Ireland as the backdrop; the larger conspiracy-crime in question actually deals with Britain and the Thatcher government. The script is overly talky and sometimes sophomoric. A sample: "Ireland would be a lovely country except for the Irish." Shock and horror? No, a big yawn...
The best thing about the film-- everyday scenes of Belfast and Dublin.
Watching a parade of groups of Protestants in similar but differently-colored uniforms playing fife and drums and waving flags MacDormand's character remarks, "Tribal ritual." Dourif's character responds, "It's frightening." Can you imagine a movie made by a "progressive" such as Loach having his main characters witness a Muslim celebration or a parade or pageant in Asia or Africa saying the same thing? Heck no, that would be insensitive and incorrect.
I cannot see this film as a thriller-- it was obvious early who would be the bad guys. Only the nature of the conspiracy was yet to be exposed.
3 out of 4 people found this helpful.
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What can you say?
Added 11/15/2007
[Take a look at the attack on me on the comments page. What can you say? Some people can dish it out, but they can't take it.] A well-acted, trite and totally bogus tale of those big, bad wolves, the British Army. It's a fair enough prospect on paper, but it's all been done before. Cox, as ever, is superb, but wasted, and it makes you wonder what the whole point is now of this second rate racism, outside of Boston or Dublin. Tired, and one for die-hard Anglophobes. What can you say?
3 out of 8 people found this helpful.
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An All Too Realistic Thriller
Added 4/2/2009
Hidden Agenda has been on my list of films to see for a long time now. As a fan of the political thriller genre I was intrigued by its premise. Now, having finally found it and had the opportunity to see it I was presently surprised. The film surpassed my expectations and easily ranks amongst the best political thrillers I've seen.
The performances are the staring point of this phenomenal film. Frances McDormand gives a marvelous performance as American civil rights activist Ingrid Jessner as Brian Cox as Kerrigan, the top investigator investigating the death of Jessner's boyfriend. The result is that, together and separately, they give two highly watchable performances that keep your attention focused on the screen. There's also the supporting cast including Brad Dourif as the murdered boyfriend, Maurice Roëves as the mysterious army officer Harris who has all the secrets plus Bernard Archard and Patrick Kavanagh as two politicians at the heart of the film's conspiracy.
The film is, if nothing else, a conspiracy thriller. What may seem like an odd murder in Northern Ireland soon turns out to be mired in the politics of Thatcher era Britain. The film, while fictional, seems to be far too real for comfort. Writer Jim Allen has crafted a thriller that blends fact and fiction together and so well that the fine line between the two is blurred when it comes to the issues of 1980's Northern Ireland, how Thatcher got herself elected and how governments deal with terrorism. Of even greater surprise is that the plot doesn't overwhelm the dialogue. Unlike some political thrillers, in this film scenes come alive not just from the performances of the actors but from the words on the pages themselves. While it deals with 1980's Northern Ireland one can't help but see the relevant issues ever present in the film nearly twenty years on.
On top of the script there's the documentary like approach that makes the film too realistic for comfort. Clive Tickner's cinematography is the main reason this succeeds so well in that it never feels like a Hollywood film. The result is that (thankfully) one gets the feeling of being a fly on the wall for many of the scenes which makes the blurring of fact and fiction even more successful. Add on the realistic costume and production design along with the tight editing of Jonathon Morris and the result is an all too realistic thriller.
Hidden Agenda is what a political thriller should be. With its combination of fantastic performances, well written script, its realistic design work and especially its documentary like cinematography make it too realistic to be ignored. While it may deal with 1980's Britain in Northern Ireland it's a thriller with a message too strong to be ignored. It's a first rate and a must see for fans of the genre of the political thriller.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Intelligent thriller
Added 3/25/2008
Obviously when a movie sets out to be a thriller about Northern Ireland with British secret service people bugging, stalking, and shooting down folks in the street, alot of people will get angry with its politics-as can be seen from some of the reviews.
But it is an excellent thriller. Loach is a great director, and he really gets the pace of it right (i felt uncomfortable for the entire duration-a mark of a good thriller!) The ending was a little abrupt, but in retrospect probably the only realistic way of doing it (unless you want Margaret Thatcher to jump out and blow every one away with a semi-automatic). I'd definitely recommend this one.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Purports to take the audience behind the scenes at the highest levels of political intrigue, but the creators of this movie don't have the IQ or background to pull it off.
A quick-to-describe example of the whole is how they present the character whose murder kicks off the plot. We're told that he's a first-rate lawyer from the USA. But there's not the slightest hint of mental acuity in anything he does. We're left with just the writer's word for it.
And that's how the plot works, too. The progress of the protagonists through the investigation is unearned, just dumped in their laps.
Lacking insight, uninspired.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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