Agent Kelly

If you're fully invested in watching Caroline Spence (Agent Kelly) walk or even perhaps run around for a good 50 minutes of screen time then baby, you've found the right movie.

Agent Kelly is a suspense action thriller which doesn't do what's on the tin. Lack of mystery or drama presented on screen and it looks more like a holiday film more than anything.

You need more than shaky cam and overly dramatic mood music to make a decent movie. You also need scenes and dialogue that let's the viewer figure thing out what's going on rather than have the characters spell it out to each other in their conversations. OTOH, when the scenes mostly just show a woman walking around aimlessly (with loud mood music) I suppose you need to let the audience know what's going on somehow.

This movie seems devoid of anything more than the most basic story telling craft.

If this truly is an experimental film, then the result of the experiment is that this is not a good way to make a film.

Initially, I confused this with Assassin's Target, the other "Hitwoman in Spain with a fondness for poison" movie. Really: what are the odds? This is sparser, yet perhaps more effective. It certainly puts over the utter loneliness of Kelly's life: there's not a single face-to-face conversation in the film, everything being told in phone-calls and voice-over.

Normally, I'd find this kind of thing an irritating indication of lazy writing, yet for some reason it did not annoy me here, fitting the murky world for which the makers seem to be aiming, largely successfully. Spence, who also wrote the script, is not a glamorous female assassin either, being on the edge of menopause and with a drinking problem: credit due there. Even an ending definitely falling into the noncommittal camp seemed appropriate to what had gone before. While clearly rough around the edges, there was enough novel here to keep me watching - much to my surprise, I will admit. Well done though to Smith and Spence.

A fantastic lead performance from Caroline Spence, which drives the story forward, filled with non-stop action, stunts, and beautiful cinematography from James Smith captivating the beauty and glory of Spain. An experimental film, with some faults, but overall is one that works well! Raya Films have certainly landed themselves another hit - one that's not to be missed! Highly recommend.