Review of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) by David S — 08 Aug 2012

A slow moving thriller that is best enjoyed when you are relaxed and have time to fully follow the plot. There is little action in this spy thriller and lots of shots of people in offices and going through files (one of the deleted scenes even has Oldman cooking an egg for breakfast.

..and nothing else!). Usually this would make for a dull film but with this amazing cast and a director who knows how to shoot poetically and let the actors silence tell the story then you have a great, intelligent thriller.

Alfredson directed 'Let the Right One In' and this film shares thats beautiful cinematography and close ups of actors thinking. This film deserves repeated viewing and you will spot new things each time.

The actual identity of the 'mole' in The Circus almost becomes secondary as you follow Oldman's Smiley pull his way back into the fold and reveal his true intelligence. It's a great role for him (not showy, apart from his scene where he relates his meeting with Karla) and it's nice to see him back in a strong leading role after lots of recent supporting roles in Blockbusters.

The rest of the cast is uniformally excellent with Cumberbatch, Hardy and Firth particularly strong. A great film and one I think I will come back to again and again.