Review of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) by Tom B — 17 Apr 2013

For LeCarré's subtleties read the book, but the film well portrays LeCarré's main theme: intelligence is mostly drudgery carried out by personalities who are good watchers and listeners, not by James Bond-types with action-hero lives. What makes this drudgery worth watching are the subtleties of the actors portraying the drudges. Oldman is superb as the socially inept master watcher. Colin Firth's Bill Haydon has a touch of style which allows him to manipulate, but also makes him suspect. Mark Strong and Tom Hardy are solid as lower level operatives, whose inability to stifle their feelings eventually make them dangerously unsuitable agents.

With exception of the gaudy Christmas party flashbacks, the palette of the film is shades of gray and brown. The pace is deliberately slow at times, with more revealed in body language than in dialog. I had read the book, so it is unclear to me how well someone who hadn't would follow the plot; it takes close attention.