Rogue Agent

I saw the documentary and it shows that Freegard was so much worse than in this movie adaptation. What some people can manipulate others to do is scary. And it's not always the victims faults. People get caught up in another's web and away they go!

It is completely and totally Freegard's fault. The parents of the people in his web did their best to get them out, but it was impossible. Once they were in his grips......

The movie is fine. Gives a brief outline of Freegard and a few of his followers and the incredible amount of damage he did.

Hopefully it'll help us steer clear of people like that!! Hopefully.

Going off the title, which of course is never wise, I heard agent and expected this to be some sort of action thriller. However, this was actually an interesting psychological thriller!! It was dull in parts but that is likely because I was expecting to be building up to cheap thrills and action. Instead, this was a very interesting mix of psychological profiles, how the human mind works, emotional manipulation and even a mirror on society in terms working life, student life, student debt and how the trajectory of our lives can impact our ultimate dreams and ambitions, and make us settle. This film is far from perfect and there are some parts I found unrealistic, so don't expect a classic, but it is an interesting watch.

Despite the negative reviews I thought I would give this a viewing. I'm glad I did as I enjoyed it. The first half hour or so was a bit slow but once the story gets going the film really drew me in to wanting to watch it to the conclusion. I thought the acting was excellent particularly by the two leading actors. The story is based on a true life event and I think there is a lesson here for everybody, be careful who you trust!

Interesting story about conman Robert Freegard, well played by James Norton.

Handsome and amiable, Freegard is able to convince people he is a secret agent for MI6, isolate them, take their money, and take off.

A slow-moving but disturbing psychological study, realizing this is a true story, Freegard's hold over these people is horrifying and thought-provoking. How the character of Rose lived in the street basically waiting to get into a new spy program - watching it was shattering.

All the performances were good if underplayed. At the time of the film, Freegard had been released from prison, his life sentence amended, and was still swindling people. He has since been caught again.

My biggest complaint is not with the film but the law - if indeed the definition of kidnapping includes persuasion using fraud to leave one's family, how was this overturned later?

Norton is perfect and evil, about as far from Grantchester here as you can get. Always with a fake smile.

Clearly I was expecting a different watch based on the title, but was pleasantly surprised when the story started unravelling. Newb filmmakers Adam Patterson and Declan Lawn co-wrote and co-directed, and aside from slow pacing (especially the first half), they put together a nice suspenseful film. The last half got crazy tense and wow, what an intense true story this was. James Norton and Gemma Arterton played their roles great. Had the pacing been a little faster and/or the 115 min runtime trimmed down to around 95 mins, this film would've been near perfect. If anything, just watch it for the mind-boggling story from true events.