The film begins with a quote from British Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher insisting that Northern Ireland is part of Britain. It ends with one from a former British intelligence agent, stating, "There are two laws running this country: one for the security forces and the other for the rest of us."[2]
In Northern Ireland, an Orange walk is held on The Twelfth, and an audio tape is handed to Paul Sullivan (Dourif), an American human rights lawyer and activist. When Sullivan arranges to meet the person who made the tape, he is assassinated by a death squad. The gunmen retrieve the tape from Sullivan's body. It subsequently becomes clear that the killers are from the British security services.
British police investigator Peter Kerrigan (Cox), with the help of Sullivan's assistant, Ingrid Jessner (McDormand), investigates the death. The investigation leads them to Captain Harris, an ex-army intelligence officer now in hiding, who created the tape. He reveals it was a recording of senior military leaders and Conservative Party politicians discussing how they subverted democracy to facilitate Margaret Thatcher's rise to power.
Harris gives a copy of the tape to Jessner, after which British security forces kill Harris and blame his death on the IRA. Kerrigan is blackmailed into silence. Jessner has the tape, but without Harris to authenticate it, the recording is dismissed as a forgery.
Young Ned of the Hill - Written and performed by Ron Kavana and Terry Woods
Reception
Critical response
Hidden Agenda was praised for its honesty and complexity,[4] as well as its resonance.[2] It was criticised for portraying the Troubles as an adjunct to British rather than Irish politics.[5]
Roger Ebert gave the film 3 stars out of 4, describing it as "lacerating" and a "superior thriller", although he noted that "for Americans, it works more as a thriller than as political polemic".[6]
Rotten Tomatoes retrospectively collected 21 reviews, amassing an approval rating of 86%, with an average rating of 6.9/10.[7]
^McIlroy, Brian (1998). Shooting to Kill: Filmmaking and the "Troubles" in Northern Ireland. Trowbridge, Wiltshire: Flicks Books. pp. 93–95, 97–98. ISBN978-0-94891-152-1.