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Review - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
The much admired novel by John le Carré, and the subsequent BBC series of the 1970s have been successfully translated to the screen, thanks to a meticulous attention to detail and some fine acting. Gary Oldman was the choice to reprise the role of George Smiley that became synonomous with Alec Guinness, and he proves his wide acting range by delivering one of the slowest acting performance seen, all machinations and an undercurrent of faint menace. This is of course in direct contrast to some of his other roles, for example Jack Grimaldi in 1993's Romeo Is Bleeding.
A fine supporting cast includes legendary actor John Hurt as Control, Tom Hardy as undercover spy Ricki Tarr, and Benedict Cumberbatch as the one person Smiley can trust in 'The Circus', operative Peter Guillam. The movie closely follows the book and successfully encapsulates its spirit, as Control brings Smiley out of retirement to prove his theory, that there is a mole within the heart of British intelligence.
The 1970s are meticulously re-constructed (except all the vehicles are in pristine condition) and we are treated to every shade of brown, and period interior decorating. A superb use of props nicely conveys the mood of the 1970s and, of course, everyone smokes.
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It is a little disappointing that we are not made privy to Control's reasoning, but he has narrowed down an original list that included Smiley, to four, the remaining suspects are code-named Tinker (Percy Alleline, played by Toby Jones), Tailor (Bill Hayden, Colin Firth), Soldier (Roy Bland, Cairon Hinds) and Poorman (Toby Esterhase, played by David Dencik). As we wait for the plot device that will expose the mole we are treated to some well conceived set pieces, including Mark Strong's attempt to enlist a foreign agent in Istanbul, and Tom Hardy falling in love with beautiful damsel in distress Irina (Svetlana Khodchenkova). The best scene though is very simplistic, as Smiley recounts his meeting with head of Russian intelligence Karla, in an airport. Smiley spent 8 hours trying to recruit Karla, who suspected he would be executed if he went home. "He never said a word. Not a single word. He returned my cigarettes unopened. He took my lighter though, it was inscribed 'To George. With Love. Ann'." Top acting by Oldman.
For those unfamiliar with the TV series or the book, the method that Smiley uses to smoke out the mole is not particularly smart, just a basic plot device - a false secret fed to the four and a trap laid to see who falls for it and tries to pass it on to the Soviets at a safe house. It is also a little obvious who the mole is, if you give it some thought. If anything the movie is too devoted to the material in the book, which does not stretch a modern audience sufficiently. Surprisingly, given the subject matter, it lacks complexity. Director Tomas Alfredson may well have felt hamstrung by the confines of the plot and was unable to escape it for fear of upsetting a British institution. With that constraint in mind, the movie is intelligently conceived, constructed and delivered, and we hope to see more of Oldman as Smiley in the future.
8/10 Flawed Masterpiece
Review written by John Franklin : September 2011
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