Tuesday, December 27th, 2011
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is like a James Bond spy movie without the James or the Bond. It’s a meticulous espionage film depicting the true world of gentlemen in shadows hoarding and sharing information on behalf of their country’s security. It’s a grainy time piece that takes us back to the 70s with the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) in London. It’s a torturous puzzle that may put you to sleep if you can’t follow along and requires an intellect to enjoy. It did wonderfully in Britain but I can’t see its success repeating in America. It’s painfully slow and dull at times but oh so rewarding in the end if you can keep up.
The performances are paramount and Gary Oldman shines in a way in which he deserves. There is a masterfully shot monologue of his that may have been the best film making of the year. Joining him is Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch and Ciarán Hinds. The entire film is character driven so their acting had the utmost importance and they all delivered. Since we’re dealing with spies and double agents, their expressions and body language had to tell the story while hiding their true intentions but still give the audience some clues to go off of.
Behind every big decision is a soundproof room full of old spies
The plot of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (TTSS) is actually pretty straight forward: find the mole. What ensues, however, is the complete opposite of straight forward. Control (the cheif of Circus – the headquarters of the SIS) and George Smiley are forced to retire after a mishandled operation in Hungary as Control believes there is a mole in their midst. After Control (John Hurt) dies, Smiley (Gary Oldman) is brought out of retirement to investigate allegations by a scalphunter, Ricki Tarr (Tom Hardy), which supports Control’s beliefs of a long-time mole in a senior position of SIS. They narrow their suspicions down to a few men: Percy Alleline (Toby Jones) “Tinker”, Bill Haydon (Colin Firth) “Tailor”, Roy Bland (Ciarán Hinds) “Soldier”, and Toby Esterhase (David Dencik) “Poorman.” Through interviews with former employees of the circus and spying on his own, Smiley must figure out who is the double agent.
Who could be the double agent!?
The story travels from London to Budapest and Istanbul with stories of Russia and America. It’s confusing, to say the least, to keep track of people, places and things but as a master spy, this is what must be done. As you slowly start figuring out the jargon of the men in suits, codewords and code names, and understanding their inner workings, you’re pulled into this immense would of paranoia and deal-making that’s so interesting but also so bland at the same time. The extent of most of these men’s actions is sitting in a soundproof room with each other discussing documents. Not much action going on in there. Instead, it’s a mind game that puts you to the test to figure out what’s going on before George Smiley himself.
I'm always fascinated on how they make these esquite period sets
I can’t recommend this movie to the average theatergoer. It’s not a popcorn movie. It’s a deep thinker with beautiful direction and acting. It’s not going to keep you on the edge of your seat but it will make the gears in our head turn faster than any other movie in theaters if you get engaged in the scenarios. There were about 20 walkouts in my screening and a few people snoring so if you’re not up to the task, don’t go. But if you are interested in the underworld and workings of true espionage, this is a delightful film that will leave you in awe at the end. Who is who, what is what, what’s going on!? Even though TTSS isn’t as flashy as other spy films, it’s still really cool… I want a codename now.
http://advancescreenings.com/tag/benedict-cumberbatch-and-ciaran-hinds/
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