The Secret Agent

Toby Jones stars as Anton Verloc, proprietor of a seedy Soho sex shop who is also caught up in the underworld of anarchists in early 20th-century London in this BBC miniseries adaptation of Joseph Conrad's oft-filmed 1907 novel. Verloc isn't so much a secret agent as a low-level informant keeping tabs on anarchist groups for the Russians—until his new handler in the Russian embassy extorts him into planting a bomb in the Greenwich Observatory (which marks the prime meridian and symbolizes science and civilization). Verloc reluctantly teams up with a zealot known as "The Professor" (Ian Hart) and fools his autistic brother-in-law into collaborating, but the scheme fails, setting into motion an investigation that is complicated by political gamesmanship and officials who are more concerned with position and public opinion than justice. Conrad's novel is cynical, and this mostly faithful adaptation serves up a bitterly satirical portrait of insincere anarchists, career-minded police officials, and manipulative government officials (making it seem quite timely). Unfortunately, there's not much room for likable characters, let alone heroes, and The Secret Agent becomes more dispiriting than tragic by the end. Costarring Tom Goodman-Hill, Vicky McClure, and Stephen Graham, this is a strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)