Film Review: ROGUE AGENT (2022): Gemma Arterton is Outstanding in Dramatic Film About Love, Deceit and Justice

Rogue Agent Review

Rogue Agent (2022) Film Review, a movie directed by Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson, written by Michael Bronner, Adam Patterson and Declan Lawn and starring James Norton, Gemma Arterton, Rob Malone, Marisa Abela, Freya Mavor, Peter Heenan, Michael Drake, Julian Barratt, Jimmy Akingbola, Simon Chandler, Melissa Collier, Shazad Latif, Luke Pierre and Sarah Goldberg.

The only way to stop a lying, deceitful and manipulative man is to stand up against him in Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson’s terrific new dramatic thriller, Rogue Agent. Gemma Arterton delivers a career-best performance as Alice Archer, a woman who falls in love with the smooth talking British guy named Robert Freegard (James Norton) who just so happens to be an expert con artist. Rogue Agent is a very well crafted picture with careful thought put into the way the story line develops which will result in the audience being very likely to be enormously entertained and compelled by this film’s intriguing plot.

Set initially in the early 1990’s and then the early 2000’s, the movie revolves around the high profile lawyer Alice Archer who falls in love with Robert as he smoothly talks his way into her heart when they meet at a car dealership where Robert is working. Alice isn’t the type of woman who would typically date a car salesman but Robert works his way into her life and the two become involved in a romantic relationship. At the very beginning of the film, we see how Robert has truly pulled the wool over a young student named Sophie Jones (a very good Marisa Abela)’s eyes and this leads to some truly devastating plot development within the movie.

This is the type of movie where one doesn’t reveal too much about the film’s plot because the picture’s unique path that it takes keeps us guessing almost all the way through the entire picture. We’re never quite sure if Robert can turn over a new leaf and love Alice or if he’s just a cold-hearted, money hungry manipulator. The movie blurs the lines between the two ends of the spectrum Robert could be on. He could either be a simple master manipulator or a leopard trying to change his spots.

The supporting cast of Rogue Agent is all top notch. Abela as the woman Robert uses for sex is heartbreaking in terms of her realistic turn here. One can’t help but feel sympathy for her tragic character. Even the smallest roles help define the story’s characters. Luke Pierre superbly plays a man at a bar who tries to hit on Alice after she’s been through the wringer and his simple initiation of conversation leads to a very revealing scene of dialogue which is delivered by Arterton flawlessly. Jimmy Akingbola is great in his role as Andrew, one of Alice’s colleagues who ends up suggesting Alice take a much needed break after some losses occur in her life which may be too difficult to overcome. Also noteworthy is Shazad Latif as a detective whose help Alice enlists in the latter part of the picture.

Two performances fuel the movie terrifically although they do so at different intervals of the movie. Arterton has never displayed more edge and competence in any of her previous roles than in her work in this film. She keeps the plot unraveling through her actions and her brilliant ideas which could help shed light on a way to stop Robert at his wicked game. The other performer who rises above the rest is Sarah Goldberg as Jenny Jackson, a depressed American woman with student debt who Robert has the unfortunate experience of trying to manipulate. Goldberg is fantastic in her part and sheds light on her character’s moral dilemma as Jenny wants to be in love again but is unfairly being forced to get her student loan money from her parents so that Robert can take it for his own profiteering schemes.

But, Rogue Agent would be nothing if Norton didn’t play a creepy manipulator and the actor is more than up to the task of fleshing out his demented character who pretends to be an MI5 agent; hence the film’s title. The scenes between Norton and Arterton are like a well-oiled machine with the two characters’ motivations eventually clashing creating conflict which leads to some nail-biting suspense throughout. It all boils down to whether or not Alice can stop Robert and you’ll be on the edge of your seat waiting to find out. The last moments of this movie provide the audience with heart racing suspense.

Rogue Agent is a thriller like no other. Its characters are complex in nature and the audience will be rooting for Arterton’s Alice to reveal the truth about Robert all the way through for better or worse. Maybe the moral of the movie is not to trust a car salesman who seems to be too good to be true. In any event, this movie is expertly made and well paced, not to mention extraordinarily acted. See it!

Rating: 8.5/10

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