- NOW PLAYING
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Thriller, Adaptation | 127 minutes | Rated [M] contains violence and offensive language | Origin: UK, France | Official Site
Starring Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch, John Hurt, Ciarán Hinds, Stephen Graham, Toby Jones, Amanda Fairbank-Hynes
Directed by Tomas Alfredson ('Let the Right One In')
Written by Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughan (based on the novel by John le Carré)
A superb adaptation of John le Carré’s brilliant, intricate Cold War spy novel, the film is a triumph. It’s packed with superb British actors, all at the top of their game, with the lengthy book skilfully condensed into just over two hours of riveting narrative.
All le Carré’s plot points have been retained. It’s 1973, and a Circus (MI6) mission to Budapest has ended badly in bloodshed. Following this fiasco, the head of the Circus (John Hurt), known as Control, is forced to retire, as is his right-hand man, the intuitive but mild-mannered George Smiley.
But Smiley returns to work secretly at the government’s behest when it becomes clear there is a 'mole,’ or double agent, working for the Soviets from a senior position at the Circus. It could be the ambitious reformer Alleline (Toby Jones); dashing, urbane Bill Haydon (Colin Firth); the dogged, assiduous Bland (Ciaran Hinds) or officious, self-seeking Esterhase (David Dencik).
All these roles are played formidably, yet Gary Oldman’s Smiley is the plum role. In large glasses, with lank hair and an ill-fitting overcoat, his Smiley looks unimpressive, but has a razor-sharp brain and a touch of ruthlessness.
We’ve never seen Oldman like this before, and he’s simply stunning: his soliloquy about his only meeting with his counterpart, the Soviet super-spy Karla, is so engrossing you forget to breathe.
There’s a terrific extended set-piece scene involving Smiley’s young colleague Peter Guillam (Benedict Cumberbatch) who must smuggle archived files from the Circus undetected. It’s funny, seductive and suspenseful all at once.
Much of the credit for all this must go to director Tomas Alfredson (Let the Right One In). He captures scenes with silky fluidity, dispatching his cameras into nooks, crannies and improbable angles, finding a visual equivalent to the story’s hunt for complex solutions.
The best compliment to pay Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is to affirm that it does what every great film can do: it makes your heart pound, gets your pulses racing and sends your brain cells into overdrive.
Daily Telegraph
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