ALBEDO ONE - Film & TV Reviews
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy directed by Tomas Alfredson

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Being long enough in the tooth to have good memories of the famous British TV series starring Alec Guinness et al, it was with some trepidation that I approached this film. Could it possibly be as good? Be warned: there are no psychotic villains, an absence of car chase sequences, no frenetic Bourne-style pacing, very little FX – in short, none of the furniture of a modern blockbuster thriller. In fact, what furniture there is in the domestic interior shots is redolent more of the fifties than 1973, when the film is set. All of which helps to deepen the grainy atmospherics on which this movie, directed by Tomas Alfredson (director of the superb Let the Right One In), is very strong indeed.

Gary Oldman, as George Smiley, steals the show - uncannily matching the performance of Alec Guinness in the earlier TV series right down to the voice, even facial and mouth movements in some scenes. An onscreen chemistry exists between Oldman and the excellent Benedict Cumberbatch (who plays the part of Peter Guillam), and a general squalid murkiness also exists that is just right. Given the time constraints of a film, and the complexity of the plot, all those other evocatively-named and fondly remembered (though hardly endearing) characters: Bill Heydon (Colin Firth), Control (John Hurt), Connie Sachs (Kathy Burke), Toby Esterhase (David Dencik), Percy Alleline (Toby Jones) and Roy Bland (Ciarán Hinds) are not as well developed as one might hope.

That is a small quibble and unavoidable given only two hours of screen-time to work with. How this film with its Cold War jargon and multiplex of subtleties would come across to a viewer not familiar with the world as it was in 1973, is another matter. Was the director foolhardy to take on this remake of a seventies classic? Perhaps, but thank goodness Tomas Alfredson took up the challenge. This is not a film to take your popcorn-eating kids to see – it’s that rare beast: an espionage movie for grown-ups. Highly recommended.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011)
Tomas Alfredson (Director)
Working Title Films

Review by Albedo One stalwart Sydney Veneer – and if you want to find out who Sydney Veneer really is go HERE.

Published first online (22/09/11).