Rogue Agent Plot Synopsis
Never trust a car salesman! Especially one that also claims to be a secret agent. Not only will you walk away with a motor you don’t want but you might also start to believe that you are the latest recruit for the MI5! Alice Archer (Gemma Arterton) meets one such salesman, a man by the name of Robert Hansen. When he tries (unsuccessfully) to woo her, the young and successful lawyer puts him in his place. But when she later apologises to him for her rude words, a romance develops between the two and he tries to convince her that he is a spy. Alice later discovers the truth about Robert Hansen and learns of his real surname: Freegard. You may have heard of Robert Freegard before – the true story of his crimes was told in the documentary The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman – and this film, Rogue Agent, is the semi-fictionalised version of his tale. So, what does Alice do when she uncovers the truth about this fake spy? And what happens to Freegard? Let’s take a closer look at the movie.
Who is Robert Freegard?
The movie doesn’t tell us much about his life but when we first meet him, he is working as a barman in Shropshire. While at the pub, he does more than pull pints as he also ‘pulls the wool’ over three students’ eyes when he tells them that he is working as an undercover agent. Of course, he is lying but the students believe him and they are eventually ‘recruited’ by this fake spy to be spies themselves. One of the students is called Sophie and her story later becomes intertwined with that of Alice Archer who, several years after Freegard manipulates the students, becomes involved with the conman.
Why does Freegard claim to be a spy?
Presumably for financial gain as he pressurizes his victims into asking for money from their family members. After getting what he wants, Freegard then abandons the people he supposedly took on as spies and moves on to his next victims. Fortunately, Alice Archer isn’t somebody who can be taken for a fool. When Freegard tries to ‘recruit’ her, she manages to find out his real identity before he drags her into a false life.
How does Alice work out who Freegard is?
Due to a connection she has with somebody working for her law office, Alice is able to find out more about Robert Freegard. She discovers that he was once tried in court for stalking and harassing a woman named Julie Harper and that he successfully had the case thrown out of court. Freegard suspects Alice is looking into his past so tells him that his agency will run a ‘shit test’ to test her loyalty to him. After confronting him about the allegations Julie made against him, he tells her that these are all part of the agency’s testing process. Alice starts to believe what Freegard is saying to her but decides to investigate him further. She visits Julie’s parents to try to discover the truth about the court case and after hearing their story, decides that Freegard is likely lying to her. Later, Alice receives a phone call from a man named Paul Jones, the father of Sophie, who Freegard hoodwinked several years earlier. Paul tells Alice that Freegard has kidnapped his daughter and that the conman forced Sophie to ask for her inheritance money early. Regrettably, Paul handed over the money, which he believes went to the conman who had brainwashed her.
What does Alice do with this information?
After finding out more about Freegard’s duplicity, she later realises that he has taken money from her as well. Freegard did this by giving Sophie a false passport containing Alice’s name and convincing Sophie to drain Alice’s bank account. Upon realising this and after learning more about the man she was falling for, Alice decides to go to the police. After partnering up with one police officer, she then goes to the American embassy where she delivers the information she has found to an FBI agent. They investigate Freegard together, with the most crucial bit of evidence being Freegard’s notepad full of phone numbers that Alice found earlier in the movie. The phone numbers are linked to burner phones and most go to voice mail. However, one of the phones belongs to Sophie, who Freegard has left wandering the streets alone after telling her that she is on a field test. So as not to alarm Sophie, Alice tells her that she has passed her test and is now ready to be collected. Together with the police officer and FBI agent, Alice meets with Sophie and is able to find out Freegard’s location from the information the bewildered girl gives to her.
Where is Freegard?
Freegard has a home in Saffron Walden. Sophie previously stayed here after being blindfolded and driven to the location. Despite not being able to see anything, she is still able to give Alice and co the clues needed to track the location of the property. They travel to Freegard’s home and get there just in time to catch the conman. He tries to get away in his car but crashes into a vehicle which is being reversed by Sophie. Freegard is captured and his latest victim, Jenny, who is dangerously ill inside the house, is taken away by ambulance. Alice then takes Sophie back to her parents and there is a tearful reunion.
What happens to Freegard?
Alice testifies against Freegard in court and he is convicted on kidnapping and fraud charges. We then catch up with Freegard in his cell and witness a conversation between him and a prison officer. Upon hearing their exchange, it is clear that Freegard is still able to manipulate others as the prison officer believes Freegard is a secret agent working undercover inside the prison. The movie then ends but before the closing credits start to roll, we learn that the real-life Freegard was eventually released from prison when the charges of kidnapping were overturned following an appeal. We then discover further charges of fraud have since come to light but that Freegard is still a free man. If you want to learn more, you should check out the Puppet Master documentary on Netflix. His latest act of manipulation is detailed in the doc and you can also learn more about this and his whereabouts here. Be warned: if you do meet a man named Robert Freegard (or any variation thereof), you should steer well clear, just in case you become the latest victim of this master manipulator. Read More: Rogue Agent Movie Review
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