Review of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) by Eero V — 25 Aug 2013

The first time I watched Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy I didn't understand a damn thing. But everyone had been warning that the movie might be too perplexing for people who have not read the original novel by John le Carré it's based on. So I read it. It didn't help me. The book was even more confusing, since you have to keep a large number of characters, secret operations and networks in mind (its clumsy translation might also have had effect). Then I watched the film again, and now it was much clearer since I understood its structure better. But it's still too messy for my taste.

The film is set in Britain in the 1970's. After an operation gone wrong in Budapest, Control, the head of British Intelligence ("the Circus"), and George Smiley, Control's right-hand man are fired. However, Smiley is rehired after there starts to be suspicions about a long-term double agent in the Circus. Control had delimited the amount of suspects to five people, who all have a significant and important post in the Circus. Smiley and his assistant Peter Guillam start to investigate the mystery.

I should start with the good things. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a smooth, quiet thriller bereft of any kind of giant shoot-out scenes, car chases and unconvincing twists that are typical to most spy films. Most of the events happen in offices and apartments where weary men are having conversations and either smoking or drinking whiskey at the same time. This may sound boring, but the viewer's task is not to watch apathetically as the film brings all the answers right in front of you. This film requires your attention and is filled with small clues and possibilities which need to be found, and that is the thing that makes these conversations more interesting to follow. Director Tomas Alfredson also has a great eye for details. The setting, lighting and cinematography are all brilliant.

Unfortunately the film is flattened by the most important of them all: screenplay. Written by Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan, it intentionally messes with your head and jumps in time, making sure that you'll never fully understand what's going on and what is this character doing now and why. But the decision to do this might also be intentional because the novel is equally complex and confusing. Le Carré's story, which moves on many character- and semantic levels is deservedly considered opaque. Also, there are so many characters in the film that their backgrounds and motives and the effects of the double agent's actions aren't explored, because there simply isn't enough time in two hours.

The cast is filled with top-notch British actors, including Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, John Hurt, Tom Hardy and Benedict Cumberbatch, among others. They all give good performances, but Oldman still leads the way as the calm, prudential, quietly determined yet relentless Smiley. Oldman is an extraordinary actor, but he has often slipped to ridiculous overacting. But now he delivers a perfectly low-key performance, which is probably his best I've seen. The acting also elevates the film a little.

Overall Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a quite interesting film with great acting and anodyne atmosphere, but it requires your full attention and still doesn't satisfy you the way you'd want it to. People with attention disorder may skip over this.