Writer/director Kleber Mendonça Filho (Bacurau) is back with The Secret Agent (O Agente Secreto) starring Wagner Moura (Civil War). A harrowing story of escape and refugee sanctuary, it feels more like a less comedic version of a serious take on Get Smart (2008) which plays the wrong way in this instance. It gets bogged down by an even more puzzling performance, leading this hair-over two-and-half-hour film to certainly leave a lot to be desired and miss the mark of what audiences may hope or expect out of its leading man, description, and early festival circuit hype. The Secret Agent takes all the less-than-ideal moments and ideologies around being a secret agent and focuses on them with a dash of spy story, leaving the espionage and mystery aside and making a tame family drama about safety and whistle-blowing.
The Secret Agent focuses on Marcelo Alves (Moura), who goes by a variety of names, but mostly Marcelo. He is back in his home town of Recife and wants to reunite with the son he’s left with his in-laws for protection. He also wants to find a record of his, Marcelo’s, late mother to prove her existence and have a paper trail as it’s the last thing he would have of her and he is determined to keep her memory alive. Marcelo is doing all this after being forced to escape Brazil after patenting and transferring something he created while working for a university in the research and engineering facility to himself before the university was shut down for corruption. This is the crux of why he has a rather large target on his back and the political climate in Brazil at the time is what forced him to escape the country. Trying to navigate the new life, hiding in secret, and wanting to reclaim his son and go back to a life he can call his own, his journey is nothing shy of difficult. While, in theory, the trials and tribulations of this may prove to be exciting and character-driven, the end result executed by Filho falls flat, leaving audiences wanting more, something potentially less grounded and more grand.
Wagner Moura as Marcelo Alves in THE SECRET AGENT. Photo courtesy of TIFF.
While the film focuses almost entirely on Marcel, and ultimately Wagner’s (Civil War; Puss in Boots: The Last Wish) performance, there are many supporting cast members here who stand out when given the chance. One in particular is Hans, played by the wonderful Udo Kier (Bacurau), who is the only one who delivers a performance that sends a chill down one’s spine which will linger for days. Robério Diógenes (Greta) plays unredeeming scumbag as Police Chief Euclides incredibly well, and it is with ease that the audience gets to hate and despise the character he portrays so effortlessly. However, with the film living and breathing on the shoulders of Moura, he manages to fumble this in a way that leaves the audience deeply disappointment and disconnected from the movie as a whole. His performance lacks depth, the person behind the persona not presented enough on-screen, resulting in an inherently hollow character. It is easy to chalk it up to him playing someone he’s not and doing so while trying to convey the character working through the challenging tasks of finding his mothers’ papers, reclaiming his son, and fleeing to safety, but the real person behind the persona doesn’t appear enough to create a character or performance for audiences to truly get behind.
Kleber Mendonça Filho tries to make a compelling historical thriller, and while there are moments of greatness sprinkled in, the two-and-a-half hour run time here drags and makes the film feel incredibly bloated, like a corpse left unattended and uncollected my police for days. Wagner Moura, who should be the standout performance, is left mostly high and dry while his antagonist, played by Robério Diógenes, and an extended cameo by Udo Kier, steal the show in this otherwise messy feature.
Screened during Toronto International Film Festival 2025.
In theaters November 26th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official Toronto International Film Festival The Secret Agent webpage.
Final Score: 3 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
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