The Agent

The premise of The Agent is simple: desperate author Stephen (Stephen Kennedy) decides to take drastic action when it becomes apparent that his agent, Alexander (William Beck) is uninterested in taking on his latest novel. Adapted from the stage production of the same name there are moments when the acting by the two central characters is convincing and the story absorbing. Unfortunately these parts are too few and far between to make the film ultimately engaging. There is also a sense that the material is a little stretched for its 80 minutes and hammers home a point that feels more than obvious; that the success of a book is often owed to the marketing machine that surrounds it. Low production values and unsophisticated use of film language are also glaringly evident. In short, The Agent is a prime example of why good cinema is far more than just filmed theatre.