Great old fashioned thriller

Rating: 8/10 (23 August 2012)

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is about MI6 trying to find a mole within its ranks. Things are somewhat convoluted as even the question of the mole isn't all that clear. It's based on a "story" that some ex-employees told, and even within the government isn't believed. But "Control" the guy in charge of MI6 thinks there's something to it. And somehow concludes the mole has to be one of the 5 senior officers on his "board". After a botched operation, he's forced out and so is his right hand hand--Smiley--who is the the main character of the movie as he is asked by the government to find out who the mole is. He recruits an agent to help him, who in some of the more exciting scenes has to steal information right out of headquarters.
From various sources now Smiley confirms that there is indeed a mole, and that this mole would be one of his former colleagues, some of whom are now in charge. Meanwhile they are working with the blessings of the government on an operation called Witchcraft supposedly gaining information from a Russian informant to then pass it on to the Americans. But Smiley realizes that the operation isn't as successful as it's claimed to be. His nemesis is called "Karla"- the Russian spymaster pulling strings. Smiley met him once in the past and tried to recruit him but realized that he was a fanatic- a trait that will also be his weakness.
Eventually, Smiley finds out the house were the mole passes on his information and discovers the codes used for the meets. He sets up a sting operation to catch the mole.
While it should be somewhat of a surprise or at least of interest who the mole really is, it isn't. And that is the main weakness of this movie. The five candidates don't get a lot of screen time. We learn very little about them. The great Ciaran Hinds is completely wasted in a thankless role, but so are all the others possible moles. We should really have spent more time with them so that the revelation becomes meaningful. As it is, it's more about the journey and reaching the destination wasn't much of a payoff. Still, this movie is excellent. It's set in the 70s and also feels like it was filmed back then. It has the right tone, although at times you wish for Smiley to be a bit more "alive".
Overall, the cast is outstanding of course, but Benedict Cumberbatch's performance as Smiley's sidekick stands out among them all. The story is fascinating, but it could have used more focus, and leave out some extraneous elements.