Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Year: 2011

Writer: John Le Carre (novel.), Peter Straughan and Bridget O'Connor (screenplay.)

Director: Tomas Alfredson

Starring; Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, John Hurt, Tom Hardy, Toby Jones, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ciaran Hinds, Kathy Burke

Plot: In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet agent within MI6's echelons.



Ever since I saw the trailer for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy at the end of August before One Day, I have been super excited about this movie. Not just because I am a huge fan of the good old fashioned Cold War spy caper. But also because I have always been a massive advocate for the body of work of Gary Oldman. A supremely talented actor who has been considerably underused since the early noughties. Harry Potter and the Batman Franchise have revived his career and I am absolutely convinced that this movie is going to send him up to the top of every Hollywood casting agents wishlist once again.

I actually saw this movie about a week ago, but have been exceptionally lazy in getting this review up and I have to say that despite suffering from a corneal ulcer and sitting next to a fat bastard who spent the entire movie throwing popcorn into his face and slurping on his coca cola, I absolutely adored this movie. It was FANTASTIC!!!  This movie is a real slow burner with occasional bouts of action and brutal violence. There is nothing glamorous about the world of espionage according to John Le Carre. This is not Bourne or Bond.  Tomas Alfredson manages to capture the grim, lonely world of a spy during the Cold War where no one can be trusted and personal lives are destroyed by one's commitment to the Circus. The cinematography is dark and grainy and the tension slowly rises as you find yourself drawn deeper and deeper into the complex world of Smiley and his colleagues. Despite the source material being rather bulky and complex, the screenwriters have done an excellent job of condensing what was originally a 7 hour mini series in it's first screen adaptation into a 2 hour movie.

The ensemble cast is astounding. With so many talented individuals it is difficult to pick out the standout performances. But if I had to narrow it down to three I would say Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy and Mark Strong. Gary Oldman gives an extremely subtle performance as a weary, deep thinking Smiley. Despite not being overly showy he manages to command every scene he is in and allows the viewer to slowly peel away the layers of his character scene by scene. One of his best scenes is when he is describing his one and only face to face meeting with Soviet counterpart Karla to Benedict Cumberbatch's character. Instead of seeing the action in flashback we are treated to him reenacting his dialogue and see his admiration as well as repulsion for the Russian.

Mark Strong is as always excellent at playing the dark mysterious character who has been screwed over by those he once trusted and dumped into the civilian world as a teacher, living alone in a caravan on the school playing fields. Tom Hardy also excels as the handsome but naive foot soldier whose information from his Russian girlfriend assists Smiley in tracking down the mole but is eventually betrayed by those he felt he could trust.

I could talk about this movie for hours, but to summarise, this is an intelligent and thrilling old fashioned movie which demonstrates exactly why Britain has some of the most talented actors working in the film industry today. Please please go and see it!!