Hidden Agenda

The script appears to be someone's first attempt at an Eastern-block who-dunnit-spy-intrigue mystery. Kevin Dillon is "David McLean", in our story, on his way to visit his brother. Apparently, the brother has been murdered, but David meets lots of folks who knew Michael. We aren't given any clues as to what's really going on, just lots of secretive looks and car chases by "people" coming after him. The CIA seems to want a disk he finds in a locker, and "Monika" (Andrea Roth" ) knows more than she is telling, but instead of telling David what's going on, he (and us, the viewers) are left in the dark so more people can chase him around. The Stazi secret police are involved, and the bodies start piling up. It pretty much comes to a screeching halt when then they hole up in an apartment about halfway through the film. It's less than satisfying, but it IS part of a four- film thriller set I found, so it is mildly entertaining. Very clichéd, even down to the sound levels jumping way up and way down throughout the film. So typical.

Simply put, The movie asks a lot of the viewer. If you play along there are moments to be appreciated. It's easy to follow, but...you need to participate fully.

Matt Dillon, Christopher Plummer, Paul Soles, J.T. Walsh are some great actors. They held up their parts I believe....so that leaves the writer, editor and director to account for the lack of ??? Flow maybe. Pace? There are some scenes which seem out of place or maybe they're uneeded. I'm clearly not an insider or movie production buff...but it feels like the Special Features "Making of..." might have been more entertaining.

There clearly is potential given the basic storyline....but for whatever reason...it didn't make it to the final product. In my mind, a post war thriller is a fairly easy story.

Brawny Kevin Dillon (as David McLean) takes a plane to Germany, where he plans to meet his estranged brother. Upon arrival, he is told what we've seen open the film, that brother Rod Wilson (as Michael McLean) blew up in a car. Mr. Dillon identifies his brother's burned-beyond-recognition body by observing his tattooed arm. You'd be suspicious, and Dillon is too. He discovers his brother was (is?) tied up in a web of espionage. The Berlin morgue makes room for more bodies, as unsavory types search for a missing computer disk, thought to be in one of the McLean brothers' possession.

Dillon befriends pretty blonde motorcycling Andrea Roth (as Monika Engelmann) who, of course, is also interested in finding the disk. Supporting actors Christopher Plummer (as Ulrich Steiner), J.T. Walsh (as Jonathan Zanuck), and Michael Wincott (as Larry Gleason) give the picture some weight. Mr. Plummer works out of the Berlin police department; in a sex shop, he suggests a nuns in bondage video. Mr. Walsh and Mr. Wincott are situated at the American Embassy. Wincott is soft-spoken, but powerful. This was dependable character actor Walsh's last filmed appearance. So, Iain Paterson's "Hidden Agenda" is, appropriately, "Dedicated to the memory of J.T. Walsh."

**** Hidden Agenda (1998) Iain Paterson ~ Kevin Dillon, Andrea Roth, J.T. Walsh

A average, but not bad thriller in a kind of Hitchcock-mood. Dillon think his brother is killed, but off course we know better... and soon he is hunted for the McGuffin: A disk of spy names from the Torn Curtain-time. There are many failures in this movie, but if you can accept them, you get a good Dillon, a lovely Roth and first of all a fine story. 5½/10

Why would Kevin Dillon, who is about to become a Doctor, immerse himself in foreign country intrigue? James Bond he is not, and that immediately begs the question of believability. The audience is challenged right from the git-go trying to make sense of the severely disjointed story line. Making matters worse are the fake German accents, which only add to the confusion. "Hidden Agenda'" is one of those movies that after the credits roll, you will be wondering what you just saw. Despite the presence of the always interesting J.T. Walsh as a U.S. Embassy Representative, and Christopher Plummer as a German Policeman, even they cannot save this film from it's lackluster and murky plot. I' would pass on this one. - MERK