When a police investigator is called in to determine the facts behind the murder/execution of an American civil rights lawyer in Northern Ireland, he discovers not only an extensive cover-up of that event, but also a giant political conspiracy as well. Set in Northern Ireland, the film is a critical look at the response by the British government and military to the IRA. Not only is the response brutal and deadly, the so-called threat the IRA poses to order and stability is capitalized on by Tory political masterminds in Margaret Thatcher's administration, as well as the CIA, in a devious attempt to permanently keep the progressive Labor opposition from ever taking power again. Directed by Ken Loach, the film has a noticeable political angle, though he holds a steady hand on the action and the investigation, with sharply written and acted interrogation scenes and meetings with reclusive IRA people, as well as bringing in the political elites, to make it fast moving and constantly interesting.
Review of Hidden Agenda
