User Reviews

I saw the documentary and it shows that Freegard was so much worse than in this movie adaptation. What some people can manipulate others to do is scary. And it's not always the victims faults. People get caught up in another's web and away they go!

It is completely and totally Freegard's fault. The parents of the people in his web did their best to get them out, but it was impossible. Once they were in his grips......

The movie is fine. Gives a brief outline of Freegard and a few of his followers and the incredible amount of damage he did.

Hopefully it'll help us steer clear of people like that!! Hopefully.

Fascinating movie with top cast. Very engrossing and emotive given the way likeable characters are manipulated and subject to disturbing treatment at the hands of a psychopath.

This is very topical given nudge and psychological techniques were openly used on the population recently. The ethics of this need to be closely examined and this movie helps shed light on what is possible when trust is given to a third party who abuses for their own purpose.

High recommended. 7/10.

I already have watched the documentary which was a real eye opener. Admittedly the film covers how Robert Freegard was tracked down one of his victims. The acting by Gemma was a bit wooden and I know she's better than this performance. The film lacked atmosphere so I am assuming it didn't have a big budget.

The ending was completely different from the real life ending which took place in an airport.

Overall it could have been a lot better with a bigger budget.

I went in to this with low expectations, for no other reason than struggling to find something that looked decent to while away a Friday night.

How pleasantly surprised I was with the way it turned out. The story is engaging and difficult to watch in equal measure. Norton is brilliant as the protagonist, while Arterton is believable as the victim who realises she's been had. Rather than thinking the other victims are just stupid for being sucked in, you realise how understandable it could be.

Credit to the director. This is a worryingly realistic portrayal and kept me engaged for the 2 hour runtime.

Going off the title, which of course is never wise, I heard agent and expected this to be some sort of action thriller. However, this was actually an interesting psychological thriller!! It was dull in parts but that is likely because I was expecting to be building up to cheap thrills and action. Instead, this was a very interesting mix of psychological profiles, how the human mind works, emotional manipulation and even a mirror on society in terms working life, student life, student debt and how the trajectory of our lives can impact our ultimate dreams and ambitions, and make us settle. This film is far from perfect and there are some parts I found unrealistic, so don't expect a classic, but it is an interesting watch.

Interesting story about conman Robert Freegard, well played by James Norton.

Handsome and amiable, Freegard is able to convince people he is a secret agent for MI6, isolate them, take their money, and take off.

A slow-moving but disturbing psychological study, realizing this is a true story, Freegard's hold over these people is horrifying and thought-provoking. How the character of Rose lived in the street basically waiting to get into a new spy program - watching it was shattering.

All the performances were good if underplayed. At the time of the film, Freegard had been released from prison, his life sentence amended, and was still swindling people. He has since been caught again.

My biggest complaint is not with the film but the law - if indeed the definition of kidnapping includes persuasion using fraud to leave one's family, how was this overturned later?

Norton is perfect and evil, about as far from Grantchester here as you can get. Always with a fake smile.

The story is fascinating, and if interested one should watch" "Puppet Master" on Netflix for a "truer" account from (some of) the horses mouths. Of course the 2 main characters have to be played by really good looking actors, which sets it apart from reality. The character Alice is a blend of several women and the ending is a fiction. At least "Puppet Master" gives you insight into the post prison continuation of the sociopath's trail of deception and cruelty.

Yet it is entertaining enough, but it's failing is in not getting close to the minds of the victims. How do people get so bamboozled? Oh wait: Trump!

Despite the negative reviews I thought I would give this a viewing. I'm glad I did as I enjoyed it. The first half hour or so was a bit slow but once the story gets going the film really drew me in to wanting to watch it to the conclusion. I thought the acting was excellent particularly by the two leading actors. The story is based on a true life event and I think there is a lesson here for everybody, be careful who you trust!

I was surprised after reading some of the reviews criticising this movie.

The dialogue is very subtle and succinct. Norton is very charming and convincing as the con man.

Its very cleverly done and i imagine there's a few con men out there that may watch this and wish the entire movie away because many probably arent as clever as this.

Arterton delivers a performance as we've come to expect and between them both they provide us with an intriguing and believable plot.

Whether it is completely accurate to the actual story i cannot speak to because I'd not heard of it until today, but if the real life conman was as convincing as Norton's portayal, I fear it would take quite the skeptic to see the truth as his character expertly counters almost all suspicion when it arises.

This is a interestimg story reasonably well told but loses much of its credibility as a true story due to the director's obrsdion with including the Gemma Atherton character in more or less every single scene. Don't want to resort to spoiler but let's just say that it is farcical that she is heavily involved in the last 30 minutes of the film. Legally this could never happen. By then there are plot holes you could drive a bus through. Norton is good and Atherton is okay but the director is dire. Pity. Could have been great in different hands.

Clearly I was expecting a different watch based on the title, but was pleasantly surprised when the story started unravelling. Newb filmmakers Adam Patterson and Declan Lawn co-wrote and co-directed, and aside from slow pacing (especially the first half), they put together a nice suspenseful film. The last half got crazy tense and wow, what an intense true story this was. James Norton and Gemma Arterton played their roles great. Had the pacing been a little faster and/or the 115 min runtime trimmed down to around 95 mins, this film would've been near perfect. If anything, just watch it for the mind-boggling story from true events.

One of those true story accounts that stupidly messes with facts and adds a few silly scenes (mostly towards end) that are mis-judged and a bit naff. Shame.

Aside from some woody acting by GA, and some issues with atmosphere, that's where my alignment with the more critical reviews ends

The story is an incredible one. Had I realised there was also a docuseries, I'd likely have watched that first, though I'm not sure one would adversely impact on the other

This movie works well at covering a long period of deceit, manipulation and fraud, though I feel it would have been better if more emphasis was placed on exploring the psychology behind Freegard's actions. Maybe the docuseries manages that

An enjoyable watch, that builds through the first half, and unfolds with tension and pace in the second.

Brit film, starring james norton as robert freeland, who posed as a secret british agent for years. In the process, he uprooted lives, borrowed money, stole money, told so many lies. Scamming mostly women, he convinced them they needed to borrow money from their family and friends. And he got away with it for a long time. Until alice (gemm arterton) caught on to him, and was determined to bring him down. So she works with the REAL mi 5, and together, they track down the other women who have been worked over by freeland. It's good. Not great, but good. Based on a true-ish story. For more information, check out the wikipedia entries on this film, and robert freeland.currently showing on kanopy streaming channel.

Most of the reviews are very negative about this film . Don't see why I was hooked from the first , the fact this is based on truth and after seeing it I can faintly remember it .

The story here is far worse than anyone could ever imagine and that the conman could be so unscrupulous.

I felt the story kept you watching from the first minute hoping for a good end . I felt it was well put together and did exactly what we hoped .

Well worth the watch.

I found the film kind of slow with out much plot. Maybe they didn't know enough of the original crimes to fill in the blanks. Acting was good as was production.

This is the kind of relational programming I have been missing. No over-acting, women with no unnecessary hysterics (we are not all hysterical, many of us react as humans, not stereotypes which is also true of men). Gemma Arterton (as one person said) did not act in a 'wooden way' in my perspective. Her character acted like a grown up who was working through the issues.

I love how the movie moved through the storyline. I don't care for flashbacks usually as they can often confuse the story, so I was happy to see very little of that aspect. Although they can be done well at times.

I enjoyed the ending but was sad to see that within a short time his sentence was reduced.

Great story telling, a movie done very well with fine acting, in my humble opinion.

Kathryne.

Stars James Norton as Robert Hendy-Freegard and Gemma Arterton also stars as the person who brought him down and with fine additional cast members. The film is an extraordinary and chilling story based on Robert Hendy-Freegard, whose career masqueraded as an MI5 agent and fooled several people into going underground for fear of assassination by the IRA. Conman Robert Freegard posing as an MI5 agent deceived innocent youngsters into hiding, and also the woman who fell for him, and then she brought him down. You can't outrun the truth!.

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. The picture is well starred by two stunning actors: James Norton who gives a good acting as the British convicted conman and impostor who masqueraded as an MI5 agent while working as a barman and car salesman and Gemma Atterton as the woman who unmasked him. And with additional cast members including Shazad Latif, Marisa Abela, Edwina Findley and Julian Barratt. The movie relies heavily in these two efficient players: James Norton, Gemma Atterton, while appearances of other secondaries are superfluous. This is one of three films produced between Great Point Media and The Development Partnership, with James Norton producing through his own production company Rabbit Track Pictures and Night Train Media would also finance the film. Rogue Agent is a 2022 film was well directed by Adam Patterson and Declan Lawn in their feature length debut, having generally favorable reviews and from a screenplay the pair co-wrote with Michael Bronner based on the unpublished article "Chasing Agent Freegard" by Michael Bronner. The film's budget was less than $10 million. Shooting commenced in London on 31 May 2021. Filming took place at Dover Castle and Dover Lighthouse. After six weeks, Lawn announced that principal photography had concluded on 12 July 2021. And there's a true crime docuseries on the crimes and survivors of Robert Freegard in 2022 called The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman.

Based on actual events about Robert Freegard, also known as David Clifton. Hendy-Freegard met his victims on social occasions or as customers in the pub or car dealership where he worked. Having met the victims, he claimed to be an undercover agent, working for MI5, the Special Branch or for Scotland Yard. He applied pressure and psychological stress to his victims, claiming they were threatened with assassination by the IRA, to coerce them into following his demands. Having won his victims over, he coerced money out of them and pressured them to do his bidding, including cutting off contact with their family and friends; performing "loyalty tests"; and living alone in poor conditions. He seduced five women, claiming that he wanted to marry them. Initially some of the victims refused to cooperate with the police because he had warned them that police would be double agents or MI5 agents performing another "loyalty test". In 1992, while working in The Swan, a pub in Newport, Shropshire, Freegard befriended two women, Sarah Smith and Maria Hendy, and a man, John Atkinson. All three were agriculture students at Harper Adams University in Edgmond. He told Atkinson that he was an MI5 undercover agent who was investigating an IRA cell in the college. He forced Atkinson to let himself be beaten up to prove his loyalty and to show that he was "hard enough". He also persuaded him to behave in a bizarre manner in college to prove his loyalty and to alienate him from friends. Hendy-Freegard then told Atkinson his cover was blown and both of them had to go undercover. He persuaded Atkinson to tell Smith, who at the time was Atkinson's girlfriend, and Hendy that he had liver cancer and persuaded them to accompany them in a "farewell tour" all over England. Next, in 1995, Hendy-Freegard had an affair with a recently-married personal assistant, Elizabeth Bartholomew. He told her to take up loans, supposedly to settle her debts following her divorce, and then made her sleep on park benches. In 1996, Hendy-Freegard told a woman in Newcastle, Lesley Gardner, that he needed money to buy off IRA killers, who had been released after the Good Friday agreement. She gave him £16,000 over six years. He also sold her car and again kept the money.

GA is a great actress, but not in this. She matches the very poor script with a phoned in performance. The source material is an interesting story, how a studio, director, writer abd cast could mess up this badly, really takes some doing. The final act is so preposterous its laughable. Avoid at all costs.