Review of: The Agent (2008)
- Film:
- Lesley Manning
Reviewed by: David M. Brown
- Rating:
- 3
On May 22, 2013Last modified:May 22, 2013
Summary:
Until the final ten minutes I loved The Agent and was completely enthralled by the face-off between agent and author.
More DetailsAbout The Agent (2008)
It’s all in a day’s work for high-flying literary agent Alexander; manuscripts to read, deals to be done, celebrity clients to be taken out to lunch… but first there is an author to deal with whose latest book the agent thinks is, frankly, not up to scratch. However he hadn’t counted on the author’s resourcefulness… This bitingly funny film takes you behind the scenes of the publishing world to witness the wheeling and dealing required to create the next best-seller. Screenplay by Martin Wagner DVD includes the following extras: Klaus Maria Brandauer: Speer in London (documentary) by Martin Wagner (52 mins) Summer (short film) by Martin Wagner (11 mins) The Agent 60 seconds by Thorsten Knaub (1 min) Essay by Guillermo O’Joyce on The Agent (PDF) The Agent play (PDF)
Starring: William Beck, Stephen Kennedy, Maureen Lipman, Richard Trinder, Lucy Bayler
Directed by: Lesley Manning
Runtime: 80 minutes
Studio: Starz/Anchor Bay
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Review: The Agent (2008)
Thousands upon thousands of authors dream of that lucrative book deal each year. Some get that lucky break, others find an agent but most are left in the wilderness. Lesley Manning’s The Agent is a very intimate piece on the working relationship between an agent and an author, that seemingly begins well but soon turns very dark and nasty when the two men have differences of opinion about the author’s work.
Stephen Parker (Stephen Kennedy) is the author who has a wife and children to support. He’s been signed up previously by an agent, Alexander Joyce (William Beck), and is now onto his second book entitled Black. After submitting the manuscript, Stephen is called into the office four months later by Alexander who is unhappy with it. Unwilling to accept Alexander’s dismissals, Stephen goes far beyond understandable disappointment, effectively taking his agent hostage and threatening to blackmail him with some incriminating photographs. Stephen wants his book to have proper consideration and it is down to Alexander to work against the clock in getting several opinions on Black and maybe even a book deal.
This is a well-crafted film with the majority of the screen time devoted purely to Stephen and Alexander. To carry this off without making the film boring takes skill and Manning accomplishes this very well. Stephen’s deeply personal accounts of what it means to be a writer, his passion and burning need to write, the agony of submitting work and waiting for a response, it is all well conveyed. I had this down for a solid 4 stars but then the last ten minutes went and ruined everything. The conclusion takes an unexpected and unpleasant turn, one that leaves the narrative feeling unsatisfying and unresolved. I expected a dark ending and even predicted one or two scenarios that might occur, but the outcome here is a wrong turn in my opinion, one that impacts very negatively on the overall experience which is such a shame.
Until the final ten minutes I loved The Agent and was completely enthralled by the face-off between agent and author. This film could have ended in many ways but sadly Manning takes the audience down a path that leaves the conclusion with more questions than answers. Had the ending been different this would have easily been a 4 star film for me but reluctantly I have to demote it.
Verdict: 3/5
(Film source: reviewer’s own copy)
About the Author:
I was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England and have always been a bookworm and enjoyed creative writing at school. In 1999 I created the Elencheran Chronicles and have been writing ever since. My first novel, Fezariu's Epiphany, was published in May 2011. When not writing I'm a lover of films, games, books and blogging. I now live in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, with my wife, Donna, and our six cats - Kain, Razz, Buggles, Charlie, Bilbo and Frodo.
David M. Brown – who has written 673 posts on Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dave.
