Hidden Agenda (1990)
Genre: Drama / Thriller
Duration: 108 minuten
Country:
United Kingdom
Directed by: Ken Loach
Stars: Frances McDormand, Brian Cox and Brad Dourif
IMDb score:
6,9 (5.253)
Releasedate: 21 November 1990
Hidden Agenda plot
"Every government has one."
When an American lawyer is murdered in Belfast, his girlfriend and a British agent investigate. They discover that the murder was related to an audio cassette that the lawyer in Belfast had come into his possession. This audio cassette, now gone, is said to be evidence of political conspiracies and manipulations in the British government.
Actors and actresses
Ingrid Jessner
Peter Kerrigan
Paul Sullivan
Moa
Sir Robert Neil
Teresa Doyle
Harris
Brodie
Maxwell
Henri
Reviews & comments
Dievegge
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- 3181 messages
- 8234 votes
A controversial political thriller about Britain's role in the Northern Irish Troubles. Supporters praise it for its realism, dialogue and bold stances. Critics denounce it as IRA propaganda.
All the elements of a thriller are there: a double murder, a chase, the cassette as a macguffin, a political conspiracy that reaches all the way to the top. But there is no abundance of technical effects, hammering music and action scenes.
Set in the early 1980s, it is an indictment of British state terrorism in Northern Ireland from the 1970s onwards. MI5 used unorthodox means in the fight against terrorism. The character Peter Kerrigan (Brian Cox) is based on John Stalker. This British detective discovered that British security agents had unlawfully shot suspected IRA members, and was promptly removed from the investigation. In 1990, IRA member Fergal Caraher was shot in his car by a group of marines; they were acquitted three years later.
It is a tribute to the investigative journalists and human rights activists who bring these kinds of things to the world. To what extent the political conspiracy was real is difficult to judge.
Translated from Dutch · View original
BBarbie
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- 12893 messages
- 7675 votes
Exciting political thriller, which once again proves Ken Loach's versatility as a director. The script is ingeniously constructed. In addition, excellent performances by Frances McDormand in a pre-Fargo role and by Brian Cox.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Fisico
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- 10039 messages
- 5398 votes
Another atypical film by Ken Loach in which the social drama does not dominate, but the emphasis is on a political thriller. As a Brit, Loach will probably have followed the situation of the riots with the IRA during the 70s and later closely. The harsh repressive approach of Great Britain will undoubtedly have stirred the activist in him.
Again a qualitative look at the event, although perhaps from only one point of view. Nevertheless a fine film with fine dialogues and setting. McDormand and Cox do an excellent job and contribute further to this whole.
As a political thriller it is certainly successful with its plots, intrigues and reckonings. The film also shows how versatile Loach is and how he can also process his own opinion or views in a different way in a film. This regardless of whether you agree with it or not.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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