The Secret Agent (1996)

It's 1880s London. It's a haven for political exiles and refugees. There is international intrigue and Mr Verloc (Bob Hoskins) is a spy for the Russians. He lives with his wife Winnie (Patricia Arquette) and her mentally weak brother Stevie (Christian Bale). Ossipon (Gérard Depardieu) is a friend and an anarchist. The Russian ambassador (Eddie Izzard) is disappointed with Verloc and demands that he attack the Greenwich Observatory as an attack on science. The crazy Professor (Robin Williams) makes a bomb for him. London police Chief Inspector Heat (Jim Broadbent) investigates the bombing. For the last 7 years, he has made an arrangement with Verloc to be his secret informant.I'm not impressed with Patricia Arquette's flat voice in this. She just doesn't feel very British. Although she does have one great moment in the last half. Bob Hoskins is as good as this heavy handed plodding story allows. Director Christopher Hampton's shooting style is slow and tired. A more imaginative style is needed here. Hoskins could have been the center of a great paranoid thriller. This has no tension or suspense. It's dark monotonous mood sucks away all interest from the viewer. Everything is so stiff.

A very good film, if not quite a masterpiece....This film aims very high, with every intention of obtaining stratospheric heights, but time restraints do not allow this film to fulfill it's full potential, and I think that the obvious effort put into the film by all involved, can produce a slight sense of disappointment in those who appreciate the film, and only increases the alienation of those who are not attuned to the themes of the film.Essentially, I think that the film's greatest flaw is that it is excessively abbreviated, and most characters are not able to be fully developed. This is partly the fault of Joseph Conrad, who wrote complicated and intricately plotted books, but the slow pace which adds greatly (and appropriately) to the atmosphere of the film, also prevents the insertion of additional scenes to develop the characters. This film could have been expanded into a masterpiece, but it would have been very long. To appreciate the film, one must grasp the nature of a large number of characters, and often there are only abbreviated cues to show the way. Thus a story about betrayals small and great, becomes a film of great betrayals.It appears that opinions are very polarized on the acting in this film, but I found most of the performances engaging, with the strong exception of Robin Williams, who seems to be mainly engaged in an attempt to break out of his comedy roles with the aid of a phony scowl. I should note that others disagree with my opinion of Robin Williams in this case however.I found the soundtrack (by Philip Glass) to be outstanding, with a traditional flavor as is appropriate to the film, but quite original.

This is a very dark and mysterious piece of work that captures the sooty mood and gritty feel of Victorian London. Even the extras seem plucked, unbathed, right out of Limehouse and Whitechapel. An unshaven mad bomber is an odd role for Robin Williams. As always, he does it well but unfortunately Williams is Williams and all I could think of was Patch Adams. Bob Hoskins may be best portrayer of losers in all filmdom. Certainly his character here, Verloc, is a confused and pitiable loser. The plot is dark and even a little pointless. The sombre cinematography with its muted colours, deep shadows and European texture emphasizes the grim story of shattered lives . At times there is some needless "creative" camera work. Nevertheless this very unconventional film makes for a satisfying if, at times, puzzling couple of hours

I would have chosen "Never more timely" for a title had the woman in NYC not taken it first. Robin Williams' fanatic could be any number of "players in this morning's "eve of war" headlines: The "End Times" druids who currently have the ear of America's Chosen-By-God president comes to mind. Or Osama bin Laden's Shi'ite zealots.Conrad's literary genius is his ability to portray horror with the narrator's understatement and ambivalence. Bob Hoskins' film accomplishes this horrific understatement. Phillip Glass' (ordinarily no personal musical favorite) score gives the entire creepiness a magnificent auditory bas-relief. I wish I had voted it a "10" instead of merely "9." Superb.