Rogue Agent

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.

Most of the reviews are very negative about this film . Don't see why I was hooked from the first , the fact this is based on truth and after seeing it I can faintly remember it .

The story here is far worse than anyone could ever imagine and that the conman could be so unscrupulous.

I felt the story kept you watching from the first minute hoping for a good end . I felt it was well put together and did exactly what we hoped .

Well worth the watch.

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.

I went in to this with low expectations, for no other reason than struggling to find something that looked decent to while away a Friday night.

How pleasantly surprised I was with the way it turned out. The story is engaging and difficult to watch in equal measure. Norton is brilliant as the protagonist, while Arterton is believable as the victim who realises she's been had. Rather than thinking the other victims are just stupid for being sucked in, you realise how understandable it could be.

Credit to the director. This is a worryingly realistic portrayal and kept me engaged for the 2 hour runtime.

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.