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Secret Agent, The
EMAILPRINTFox Searchlight Pictures
Mixed or average reviews
Based on 17 critic reviews
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama
Written by:
Christopher Hampton
Joseph Conrad (novel)
Directed by: Christopher Hampton
Release Date:
Theatrical: November 8, 1996
DVD: June 7, 2005
Running Time: 95 minutes, Color
Origin: UK
Summary
RATING: R for some moments of violence
Starring Bob Hoskins, Patricia Arquette, Gérard Depardieu, Jim Broadbent, Robin Williams, Christian Bale, Roger Hammond, and Eddie Izzard
Based on Joseph Conrad's novel about a quiet English shopkeeper, a secret spy for the Russian Embassy, is ordered to plant a bomb that will wreak havoc on the British public. (Fox Searchlight)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Imagining Argentina
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
A dense, faithful and absorbing adaptation of the Joseph Conrad's 1907 novel. [08 Nov 1996]
Baltimore Sun Stephen Hunter
The movie is full of macabre surprises. As good as Hoskins is as the little sweat-manufacturer caught in everybody's pliers, far better is Robin Williams in an unbilled appearance as a nihilist dynamiter. [13 Dec 1996]
Chicago Tribune John Petrakis
This new version is quite faithful to Conrad's novel, not only in content but also in tone. [13 Dec 1996]
TV Guide Staff (Not Credited)
Writer-director Christopher Hampton's adaptation of Joseph Conrad's widely-read novel is an honorable failure, a screen version that's actually too faithful to its source.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Russell Smith
It's an utterly contemporary film that forces - and rewards - hard reflection on the nature of truth, goodness, and identity.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
Christopher Hampton's film conveys the basic plot of Joseph Conrad's sinuous novel but loses the book's sardonic tone and psychological depth.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Examiner Barbara Shulgasser
This is a piece of gloriously literary and serious filmmaking, but again it falls prey to misjudgments in pacing and rhythm.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Douglas Bell
On screen, the result feels stagey and cramped, as though the film had been "adjusted for your TV set" before going to video. [13 Dec 1996]
Variety Justin Chang
A dour study of terrorism, 1880s style, The Secret Agent represents an adaptation of Joseph Conrad's only London-based novel, the fidelity of which to the original text does not yield a terrifically exciting film.
Read Full Review >Empire Staff (Not Credited)
The big surprise and highlight is not in the clumsily structured, jerky plot of the monotonous mood but an uncredited Robin Williams, actually chilling as a mad bomber anarchist.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
Fairly strong on period atmospherics, but it mainly adds up to yet another pointless adaptation of a literary standby.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Stephen Holden
The movie, which imagines its principal characters as metaphorically ticking time bombs, never convincingly portrays their passions.
Read Full Review >Village Voice J. Hoberman
The best one can say for Christopher Hampton's dispirited adaptation of Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent is that this weirdly sentimental movie might direct new attention to Conrad's corrosive novela satire. [12 Nov 1996]
Washington Post Desson Howe
The Secret Agent, with its hemmed-in shots, feels like a TV production; what is said takes precedence over what is done. Even in the writing department, Hampton founders. [06 Dec 1996]
Boston Globe Joan Anderman
Hampton's directorial inexperience shows, and the film remains curiously disjointed and devoid of suspense. [06 Dec 1996]
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
This project is dead in the water. Read the book. Better still, read "Victory."
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Peter Stack
This thick, leaden production starring Bob Hoskins and Patricia Arquette - and an uncredited Robin Williams - has a sophomoric air, even though it faithfully follows the book.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 0.0 (out of 10) based on 0 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
