Well-intentioned, but rather murky.
Hidden Agenda (1990)
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Reviews Counted: 17
Fresh: 13
Rotten:4
Average Rating: 6.5/10
Runtime: 1 hr 49 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: An implicit condemnation of the repressive tactics of the British government in Northern Ireland, HIDDEN AGENDA stars Brian Cox (THE BOXER), Brad Dourif (MISSISSIPPI BURNING), and Frances McDormand... An implicit condemnation of the repressive tactics of the British government in Northern Ireland, HIDDEN AGENDA stars Brian Cox (THE BOXER), Brad Dourif (MISSISSIPPI BURNING), and Frances McDormand (FARGO). When an American attorney working for a humanitarian group who is investigating the torture of IRA prisoners is killed in Belfast, Inspector Kerrigan (Cox) is sent to investigate the crime. He's joined by Sullivan's fiancée, Ingrid Jessner (McDormand), a lawyer working for the International League of Civil Liberties. They learn that he had been given a tape by a former British army officer named Harris (Maurice Roeves) that contained highly incriminating material concerning the activities of the British government. With some difficulty they track down the elusive officer, leading them to the IRA. This well-made, low-key political thriller was highly controversial upon its release because it cited real names and events in presenting its case for the existence of a conspiracy at the highest levels of the British government. [More]
Starring: Frances McDormand, Brian Cox, Brad Dourif
Starring: Frances McDormand, Brian Cox, Brad Dourif
Director: Ken Loach
Director: Ken Loach
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Reviews for Hidden Agenda
Though it attempts to make an acceptable theatrical entertainment out of a complex political saga, Hidden Agenda lacks bigscreen impact.
It's made with the flaggelatory ardour that Ken Loach brings to all his films, a hard edged realism pounded into the mortar of cinema with naturalism
There's plenty of evidence of Loach's undiminished power as a film-maker, and equally ample evidence that something is very rotten in the state of Northern Ireland.
Made in 1990, it feels and looks like it's from 1980. Frances McDormand is an especially snoozy disappointment in a woefully miscast role.
Gripping stuff, even if the outbreak of peace in Northern Ireland has somewhat blunted the message.
This quietly explosive film comes to resonate more loudly than melodrama.
Hidden Agenda could be accused of being dogmatic (Loach’s films frequently slam the U.K. government), but the director keeps a sense of gritty authenticity throughout.
The film is a bit slow and at times slightly strained, and there are moments when you'll be hard-pressed to understand all the dialogue -- but on the whole it is effective and chilling.
Ken Loach's Hidden Agenda must be the most buttoned-down movie about a conspiracy theory ever made.
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