The Secret Agent is a 1996 British drama-thriller film written and directed by Christopher Hampton and starring Bob Hoskins and Patricia Arquette. It is adapted from Joseph Conrad's 1907 novel of the same name.
Contents
Plot
Verloc works as a spy for the Russian government. He is hired by a foreign organisation to cause political instability in the country.
Cast
Bob Hoskins as Verloc
Patricia Arquette as Winnie
Gérard Depardieu as Ossipon
Christian Bale as Stevie
Jim Broadbent as Chief Inspector Heat
Eddie Izzard as Vladimir
Ralph Nossek as Yundt
Elizabeth Spriggs as Winnie's mother
Peter Vaughan as the Driver
Julian Wadham as the Assistant Commissioner
Robin Williams as the Professor (uncredited)
Release
The film opened on 8 November 1996 in New York and Los Angeles on 6 screens and grossed $22,401 in its opening weekend.
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 50%, based on reviews from 10 critics. On Metacritic, it also has a score of 41 out of 100, based on reviews from 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Written reviews prove more negative. Time Out stated that whilst Hampton's version of this story is "more respectful of Conrad's narrative, characters and tone" than Hitchcock's Sabotage, he "travesties the novel". Similarly, Variety stated that "the fidelity of which to the original text does not yield a terrifically exciting film" The New York Times described the film as "drably tasteful", with its only affective performance being from the uncredited Robin Williams. The Los Angeles Times however, gave it a positive review, saying that it "is the kind of film that demands you to grab on to it and hold on for dear life."