Hidden Agenda

It doesn't take long before the viewer understands that Ken Loach takes a clear political position with this film. At first it appears to be just about the Northern Ireland situation, but then it broadens into a larger conspiracy. It's up to the viewer to believe it or not, but it is never stated in the film that the facts depicted are real, because they can't be proven and are clearly partial.

Anyway despite this controversy, I think that as a thriller it is really well crafted, with a great pace and progression. I was glued to the screen as the investigation unfolded the mistery. Great performances too from the main actors.

Largely forgotten today, the first of two films Ken Loach made about The Troubles generated headlines at the time for a nasty spat at a press conference between Alexander Walker and Loach. As the snappy title suggests it's the nearest thing Loach ever made to a conventional thriller, and although Loach is no Costa-Gavras or Alan Pakula it hold the attention.

Loach inevitably subscribes to the conspiracy rather than the cock-up theory of history, witness the speech that Thatcher's elevation was deliberately engineered rather than simply luck; and he puts a crass and patronising observation about the Irish in a high-ranking Tory's mouth.

A good cast rather surprisingly includes Mai Zetterling making a rare late appearance as an actor in a oddly small part.

When an American human rights lawyer is assassinated in Belfast, it remains for the man's girlfriend (Frances McDormand), as well as a two-fisted, obstinate, no nonsense police officer (Brian Cox) helped by his assistant (John Benfield) to find the truth. They soon discover tracks to be contained in an audio tape which the man had with him, exposing political manipulations at the highest levels of government. But such underlying agendas require careful considerations to avoid worse things than killing. Secret Defense...Murder... Torture... Corruption...The most talked about thriller in years! Murder... Torture... Corruption... The Truth Can Never Be Buried. Every government has one. When a government seeks revenge...nobody is safe.

An explosive new thriller inspired by actual events, including intrigue, thrills, suspenseful, twists and turns. An acceptable and passable film but neither notable, nor extraordinary , but decent. It deals with a a human rights activist and a police detective who pull off a complex enquire and uncover brutality and corruption among the British forces in Northern Ireland. Loach's film has the feel of a Costa-Gavras film political thrille and adding a storyline by controversial Marxist Jim Allen. Despite its something flailing conspiracy-theory narrative and its upstaging by television projects, this deserves to be seen simply because it takes the debate on Ireland further than most such docudramas, asking about the nature of the British presence and its effect on the mainland's justice system. The plot based on both the 'Stalker' and 'Colin Wallace' affairs, concerning mainly the murder of an American civil liberties campaigner and the subsequent investigation by Brian Cox as a tough, stubborn police detective to find the truth, which leads to the heart of the military and political establishment. The Northern Irish dialect is sometimes hard to understand as are the machinations on the British police system. Whatever one thinks of the political line on offer, there's plenty of evidence of Loach's undiminished power as a director and equally ample evidence that something is very rotten in the state of Northern Ireland. The two main actors: Frances McDormand, Brian Cox give stunning performances. They're re well acompanied by a mostly Brit support cast, such as: John Benfield, Maurice Roëves, Michelle Fairley, Brad Dourif, Patrick Kavanagh, Mai Zetterling, Bernard Archard, Ian McElhinney, Jim Norton, among others.

The motion picture was professionally directed by Ken Loach, following his particular style. Loach is an expert fimmaker of rich human dramas, committed stories and films of social denunciation. In the 90s Loach directed a series of award-winning movies firmly establishing him as one of the best European filmmakers with ¨Riff-Raff¨, ¨Raining stones¨ and ¨My name is Joe¨ winning several prizes in Cannes, and other international Festivals and , of course , ¨Land and freedom¨ which achieved the Ecumenical Prize and the International critics Prize at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival. In the 2000s, Loach went on his special landmark about socialist realism with ¨Bread and Roses¨, ¨The Navigators¨, ¨Sweet sixteen¨, ¨Just a kiss¨, and ¨It's free world¨. And in 2006 directed ¨The Wind That Shakes the Barley¨ and it was winner of the Palme d'Or at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival The picture appeal to Ken Loach enthusiasts, Frances McDormand fans and political genre buffs. Rating : 6/10. Generally worthwhile.

I admit it - I'm smitten with Frances McDormand. She makes every male lead she plays opposite better by her presence. Doubt that? Look at how she elevated Brad Pitt's game in "Burn After Reading."

The rest of the acting and direction is noteworthy as well. Now about the writing.... Am I getting old, or is it really quite opaque?

Ken Loach has made a career out of directing movies about politically charged topics. A lot of his movies have addressed class issues in the United Kingdom, but he has also looked at foreign policy. One example is "Hidden Agenda", about an investigation into the murder of a human rights lawyer in Belfast. Loach not only indicts the British occupation, but also finds time to take a swipe at Margaret Thatcher's government.* While I was watching the movie I assumed that it was based on the murder of solicitor Pat Finucane. It turns out that the movie is a fictional story, but it still makes sure to show the sorts of things that had become commonplace in Northern Ireland. I read that Loach had the cast members meet with people who had gotten abused by British forces to give them an idea of what the movie was dealing with.

Ken Loach also looked at Ireland in "The Wind that Shakes the Barley", about Ireland's war for independence in the early 20th century. Both movies take unflinching looks at what the English did to the Irish for over 800 years. To be certain, "Hidden Agenda" features a scene that should give people pause in the era of the so called war on terrorism: a man sings a song that has the line "you take our land and call us terrorists for resisting". I recommend the movie. Other movies focusing on Northern Ireland that I recommend are "In the Name of the Father", "Bloody Sunday" and "Breakfast on Pluto".

*After Thatcher died, Loach proposed that her funeral should be privatized, since she would've wanted it that way.