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It's an odd paradox that, while the 1970s were a Golden Age for paranoid
thrillers in the US, Hollywood backed very briskly away from the genre in the
next decade. Britain, by contrast, produced a stream of fine conspiracy dramas
for cinema and, especially, television, including Edge of Darkness (BBC, 1985),
'In the Secret State' (Screen Two, BBC, tx. 10/3/1985),
Defence of the Realm (d. David Drury, 1986) and
A Very British Coup (Channel 4, 1988). Ken Loach's Hidden Agenda is a late but
distinguished addition.
The 1980s had been a lean time for Loach, but he bounced back resoundingly with this robust thriller attacking British
shoot-to-kill policy in Northern Ireland and corruption at the highest level of
government. Hidden Agenda was unveiled at the Cannes Film Festival, where its
combative anti-establishment stance caused a tremendous furore among British
critics, but where it also won the Jury Prize.
Just six months later, the then prime minister Margaret Thatcher, one of the
film's main targets, resigned from office. On the other hand, Loach's star was
back on the rise and Hidden Agenda ushered in an exceptionally fertile and
successful period for the director.
Written by Loach's frequent collaborator Jim Allen,
Hidden Agenda is set in Belfast in the recent past (the exact date is
unspecified) and starts with the shooting of an American human rights lawyer
(Brad Dourif) in town to probe the British army's interrogation tactics. The
dubious circumstances surrounding his death are investigated by his girlfriend
(Frances McDormand) and a British police detective, based on John Stalker, a
senior police officer involved in a similar real-life case, and played here with
gravitas by Brian Cox.
Hidden Agenda resumes Loach's commitment to exploring the Irish question, as
seen previously in Looks and Smiles (1981) and subsequently in The Wind That
Shakes the Barley (2006), while a small subplot comparing Northern Ireland to
General Pinochet's Chile also taps into the director's long-standing interest in
Latin American politics.
The film starts with the Orange Day marches of 12 July and gradually darkens
into winter as the story unfolds. Its everyday settings are anonymous sales
reps' hotels, car parks, and shabby Republican pubs and clubs, rather than the
shadowy melodramatic surroundings of classic noir thrillers. One of the most
quietly chilling sequences (filmed with hidden cameras) involves an abduction in
broad daylight on Central Dublin's O'Connell Bridge, while passers-by barely
blink an eye.
Sheila Johnston
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