Rogue Agent (film)
Rogue Agent is a 2022 British biographical mystery drama thriller film directed by Adam Patterson and Declan Lawn in their feature length debut, from a screenplay the pair co-wrote with Michael Bronner based on the unpublished[4] article "Chasing Agent Freegard" by Michael Bronner. James Norton portrays Robert Hendy-Freegard, a conman who tricked and convinced several people that he was an MI5 agent. Gemma Arterton also stars as the person who brought him down, with additional cast members including Shazad Latif, Marisa Abela, Edwina Findley and Julian Barratt.
Rogue Agent
- Adam Patterson
- Declan Lawn
- Michael Bronner
- Adam Patterson
- Declan Lawn
"Chasing Agent Freegard"
by Michael Bronner
- Michael Bronner
- Kitty Kaletsky
- Robert Taylor
- Herbert L. Kloiber
- Rabbit Track Pictures
- Great Point Media
- The Development Partnership
- Night Train Media
- 27 July 2022
116 minutes
United Kingdom
English
< $10 million
The film was released in the United Kingdom on 27 July 2022 on Netflix.
Premise[edit]
The film is based on Robert Hendy-Freegard, who masqueraded as an MI5 agent, conning several people into giving him their life savings and fooling them into going underground for fear of assassination by the IRA.
Production[edit]
On 22 January 2019, it was announced that James Norton would star in Chasing Agent Freegard, as one of three films produced between Great Point Media and The Development Partnership, with Norton producing through his own production company Rabbit Track Pictures.[5] By June 2020, Adam Patterson and Declan Lawn were attached to co-direct the feature from a screenplay by Michael Bronner.[6][7] In May 2021, it was reported that Night Train Media would also finance the film, then retitled Freegard, and that Gemma Arterton, Shazad Latif, Marisa Abela, Edwina Findley and Julian Barratt had joined the cast.[8][9] Filming commenced in London on 31 May 2021.[9][10] Filming took place at Dover Castle and Dover Lighthouse. That July, Sarah Goldberg, Jimmy Akingbola, Freya Mavor, Rob Malone, Philip Wright, Michael Fenton Stevens and Charlotte Avery were added to the cast.[11][12] According to Variety Insight, the film's budget is less than $10 million.[13] After six weeks, Lawn announced that principal photography had concluded on 12 July 2021.[14] The film was later retitled again to Rogue Agent.[15]
Reception[edit]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a 73% approval rating, based on 40 reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The website's consensus reads, "Even if it isn't as engaging as the real-life story that inspired it, Rogue Agent remains a well-acted and appealingly twisty suspense thriller."[17] On Metacritic, the film received a score of 61 out of 100, based on 11 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[18]