Ice Cold In Cambridge Circus

Rating: Null/10 (16 September 2011)

A Multiplex offering this to its patrons is not unlike a Hamburg Massage parlour offering its patrons chess. Both are feasible but what would be the point, the respective patrons go to the respective establishments for other things. I have, in fact, just watched it in a Multiplex, one of about ten patrons, most of whom had probably made an effort to seek out the film on the strength of ... what? They enjoyed the book, they remembered the original adaptation on BBC television, or they were responding to the ubiquitous PR. As we were leaving I couldn't help noticing that most of them appeared underwhelmed. If you haven't read the book and/or seen the previous adaptation you're going to have to pay close attention and even then there's no guarantee that some of the nuances/subtleties will elude you. The whole thing is shot in subdued light which is clearly a nod to the twilight world of Cold War espionage and the bulk of the shots are held long after the applicable scene has ended, possibly in defiance of the Bond and Bourne franchises. The acting is up to snuff and that may be to the film's detriment for what comes across is that this is just what it is, ACTING, and that people aren't really dying on both sides of the Iron curtain as a direct result of the debates of these clowns from the 'circus'. It's pleasant to watch, especially if, like me, they couldn't pay you to watch Bond or Bourne but I doubt it will find its audience.