A Bit Of A Throw-Back

Rating: Null/10 (30 October 2011)

An old fashioned espionage thriller, beautifully shot by Van Hoytema and intelligently directed by Alfredson, the art direction is faultless and everything about the film screams 1970s, even the grainy feel to the movie's image. Gary Oldman is intense and brooding as Smiley, around whom the film revolves and support comes from a stellar cast including John Hurt, Colin Firth and Toby Jones. The narrative flits around, flash backs and complex plots mean a good deal of concentration is required to keep up.
However, for me it never really moves beyond what it always has been - a John Le Carre spy novel, albeit a great novel. It is a period piece, and shows a world that we barely recognise or even care about any longer. This is the kind of stuff UK TV supplies for its older viewers on a Sunday evening, recollections of a bygone age, when the British still thought they ruled the world. These days, I expect a little more from a movie than reminiscing about the "good old days". This is the 21st century. Where were the strong roles for women? where were the black faces? OK, so a little bit of homosexuality is hinted at, and extra martial affairs are an important part of the story, but you can't escape the fact that this is an old-fashioned story littered with characters from the British public school system who still saw the value of Empire.
Oh and Tom Hardy was seriously miscast as Ricki Tarr, his wide boy swagger really wasn't believable and Kathy Burke's Connie was equally unbelievable. However, it is worth watching.