The Secret Agent (1996 film)

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The Secret Agent
The Secret Agent (film).jpg
Home video poster
Directed by Christopher Hampton
Written byChristopher Hampton
Based on The Secret Agent
by Joseph Conrad
Starring
Cinematography Denis Lenoir
Edited by George Akers
Music by Philip Glass
Production
companies
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date
  • 8 November 1996 (1996-11-08)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office$106,606

The Secret Agent is a 1996 British drama-thriller film written and directed by Christopher Hampton and starring Bob Hoskins and Patricia Arquette. It is adapted from Joseph Conrad's 1907 novel of the same name. [1] [2]

Contents

Plot

Verloc works as a spy for the Russian government. He is hired by a foreign organisation to cause political instability in the country.

Cast

Release

The film opened on 8 November 1996 in New York and Los Angeles on 6 screens and grossed $22,401 in its opening weekend. [3] [4]

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 50%, based on reviews from 10 critics. [5] On Metacritic, it also has a score of 41 out of 100, based on reviews from 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [6]

Written reviews prove more negative. Time Out stated that whilst Hampton's version of this story is "more respectful of Conrad's narrative, characters and tone" than Hitchcock's Sabotage , he "travesties the novel". [7] Similarly, Variety stated that "the fidelity of which to the original text does not yield a terrifically exciting film" [8] The New York Times described the film as "drably tasteful", with its only affective performance being from the uncredited Robin Williams. [9] The Los Angeles Times however, gave it a positive review, saying that it "is the kind of film that demands you to grab on to it and hold on for dear life." [10]

References

  1. ↑ Mark Deming. "The Secret Agent (1996) - Christopher Hampton - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  2. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (25 March 2023). "A Brief History of Hitchcock Remakes". Filmink.
  3. ↑ "Weekend openers". Daily Variety . 8 November 1996. p. 3.
  4. ↑ Roman, Monica (12 November 1996). "'Swingers' lights up the coastal B.O.". Daily Variety . p. 6.
  5. ↑ "Joseph Conrad's 'The Secret Agent' (1996)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  6. ↑ "The Secret Agent". Metacritic . Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  7. ↑ TCh. "The Secret Agent". Time Out Worldwide. Archived from the original on 7 October 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  8. ↑ McCarthy, Todd (11 November 1996). "Joseph Conrad's the Secret Agent". Variety. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  9. ↑ Holden, Stephen (8 November 1996). "Anarchists and Spies, Inept and Very Soggy". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 October 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ↑ Thomas, Kevin (8 November 1996). "'Secret Agent' Operates at High Intensity". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
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