Rogue Agent Movie Review

I ask that, while watching, you keep in mind that neither the article nor the screenplay is fiction. ​

Conman, Robert Freegard, played by James Norton, was the subject of an article called “Chasing Agent Freegard.” It was written by Adam Patterson, who also co-wrote the screenplay for “Rogue Agent” along with Declan Lawn and Michael Bronner.

“Rogue Agent” is inspired by what Freegard really did, meaning some things are changed, exaggerated or what have you. Basically, by learning what happened, the writers do their best to draw the picture for you and to entertain. You will be engaged because this is a frightening sketch of what kind of people are out there, hiding in plain sight.

The title is entirely misleading, however, and here I’m not so sure that’s a good thing. It does the film a disservice.

Anyway, the movie has Freegard and his actions suck us in right away. Much like he does when he drafts and pulls in his prey; unsuspectedly.

It’s 1993 and the Irish Republican Army is waging a bombing campaign in England. He’s masquerading as an MI5 agent, getting people to ‘work’ with and help their fellow countrymen against the Irish. War? That’ll work! It’s an excellent excuse to get young people in England to believe his lies.

“Rogue Agent” starts out kind of slow, but I believe that’s wise. You’re enjoying Norton’s performance and you don’t see what’s coming. Neither does Alice Archer, played by Gemma Arterton. When we started, he was using students for his con. When we picked up in 2002, he moved on to bigger fish.

Alice is somewhat of a pretentious lawyer. When she meets our conman, she plays it cool at first but ends up falling for his nice guy act. He’s in! They begin to see one another off and on.

It gets slow during the ‘dating’ scenes but picks back up when she decides that the saying ‘too much of a good thing’ might be a real thing. She discovers she has been a mark of this evil monster. Being an intelligent woman, she has him checked out by a private investigator who stumbles upon the fact that Freegard doesn’t exist. She digs more and finds another victim, a student named Sophie (Marisa Abela), who we met at the beginning of the film.

Sophie’s been brainwashed and, basically, kidnapped. Her parents have been looking for her for years. Well, they did hear from her. Freegard’s game? Get the duped to call mommy and daddy for money. His nice little blackmail scheme has been working for a good long time. When the money is sent, there is no quid pro quo. And with Alice, he knows that once she’s putty in his hands, he can go straight for all the goods without having pesky parents as a go-between.

Thankfully, he isn’t as smart as he thinks. With Alice battling to find Sophie, we’re now also on the lookout for a missing American, getting the American embassy involved.

Can they find this man before he hurts Sophie more and destroys another life? These are the question that entertains in this intense thriller.

*You find out more about the real Freegard before the end credits.