Review of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) by Dave M — 22 Aug 2012

Let me get this out of my chest... I have never read a novel by John le Carré, and did not even think there could actually be realistic spy stories out there that were so popular. Nevertheless, I had to see "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy", the masterful adaptation of one of the most famous Le Carré novels directed by Thomas Alfredson. A film for the decades, a film of sublime characters, of strong thematics, of powerful twists, and of the ultimate breakdown that provokes the film's splendid finale.

This is a film that is not made for all audiences. It is a film that requires meticulous analysis from its spectators, and most of all, challenges you to step up to Smiley and his crew in every single frame. If you're a person who so willingly watches Michael Bay's films and believes that Adam Sandler is funny, then this film is not for you. And if you're a patient moviegoer, but for some reason couldn't keep up with this film, even thought you knew there was something remote on it that made it great, watch it again and you'll most likely get it: I have realized over the years that complex but profoundly artistic motion pictures are able to hold your brain on what you already know and keept it finding out the clues you missed. However, if you are an adult-hearted intellectual, cultured cinephile that pays attention to details, you will understand that "Tinker Tailor" is a modern masterpiece.

The script is elaborately dense, carefully crafted, minimal and ambitious. It never takes chances generally exploring characters, but individualizes them and actually realizes that a solid connection bounds them. And the final scene with Julio Iglesias singing "La Mer" and Smiley sitting as chair of the section is oustanding. Of course, no one steals the show in this better than Gary Oldman does, the perfect, slow-paced, heartwrenching and realistic veteran that takes you on a journey of decadence, tragedy, retreat and eventual triumph. I'd like to praise Benedict Cumberbatch too, whom I also see playing Sherlock Holmes on the modern setting of the BBC series.

Very few films will ever leave me like the experience "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" meant. An otherwise cynical error turned out to be a most artistic reflection on the best resource men possess: the mind.