“Diary of a Spy” Promises Big Thrills on a Small Budget

When most people think of spy movies, they think of massive blockbusters like James Bond. But there's been a steady stream of low-budget thrillers that deal with espionage for just as long. While often overshadowed, they can deliver powerful emotional resonance that big Hollywood films sometimes lack.

Touted as being "based on actual events," Diary of a Spy follows an older agent (Tamara Taylor) whose pulled from the field after a mission goes awry in Saudi Arabia. She's given one last shot: Go undercover to seduce and surveil a suspected terrorist (Reece Noi). But of course her orders conflict with her heart, as she actually falls for the man she's supposed to stop.

Written and directed by Adam Christian Clark, the supporting cast includes Susan Sullivan, Fred Malamed and Madeline Zima.

Diary of a Spy arrives digitally on July 14.

About Kip Mooney

Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about. I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague. Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work. In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo. I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.