Review of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) by Simon H — 08 Jun 2014

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is not your typical secret agent mystery thriller. Rather than go out with guns blazing in an attempt to stop the bad guy it deals with a retired agent who must work out who the mole is within the group. An idea that sounds really promising but unfortunately failed to live up to what I was hoping.

Getting the big positive out the way first, the film includes a fantastic cast line-up. Along with Gary Oldman leading his way with an Oscar nomination, you also get some worthy performances from John Hurt and Benedict Cumberbatch. You also gain some enjoyable characters from the likes of Colin Firth, Mark Strong and Tom Hardy. There is even a small entertaining moment from Kathy Burke. The bleak days of the Cold War are successfully recreated and the characters fit right in, especially with the big glasses and retro hairstyles.

Whilst many praised the film and the screenplay, it was this that I found the issue with. The overall plot was easy to make sense of and the flashback scattered throughout were in no way distracting. However, I felt that certain lines of dialogue could have done with more explaining into what exactly was happening. A number of times the scene would change to another without me knowing what was going on. I was finding myself that confused that when the "mole" was uncovered, I hadn't even realised it. When the find come to an end, I was disappointed as I could not keep up with a plot that sounded so promising. Now knowing this, I may find myself appreciating the script more on a second viewing. Even with this issue, I can't fault the film in what it offers.