A marvellously English cold war thriller

Rating: 8/10 (8 February 2012)

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is without any doubt a wonderfully crafted film set in a recreated 1970s London that exudes a certain eerie realism, from the bare light bulbs to chain smoking it creates the perfect atmosphere for the retelling of John le Carré's classic novel.
Tinker tailor soldier spy is in essence a cold war thriller but gone are the explosions and gun shots and heroics, this is a film of internal war. It tells the story of a mole inside the British intelligence service, nicknamed quite aptly 'The Circus', leaking secrets to the Russians and the quest of one old retired spy to find the truth whilst remaining unknown to the upper echelons of the circus. With a quintessentially English feel, from dinner at the wimpy to the disgust that darts across Oldman's face at the slightest sign of unbecoming activity which goes a long way in adding to the Oxbridge old boys characters in the film.
One thing that you notice as you watch the film is the fantastic casting for which we have Tom Alfredson and co to thank as it truly elevates the film to a level that could not have been achieved by other actors and strikes a real chord with le Carré's novel. Not simply is this laid at the feet of Gary Oldman (George Smiley) who is in reverence to the book, a man of few words but inspiring presence. Oldman plays Smiley with a majestic manner in which he, much akin to an Oxford old boy and a gentleman, does most of the talking with his unflappable demeanour and patience which for any actor would be a challenge to put forward so much by saying so little but Oldman plays it quite masterfully and reveals Smiley's insecurities with a marvellous intimacy that truly brings Smiley to life from the pages. This film is acted wonderfully throughout, from the ever dapper Collin Firth (Bill Haydon) with his confidence and authority to the gruff military manner of John Hurt (Control) that to any reader of the book will see a near perfect portrayal and anyone who watches the film will see an extraordinary performance.
Further note should be given to screen writers Bridget O'Connor and , Peter Straughan who do an excellent service in taking le Carre's mass of characters, plot lines and at times circumlocutory manner and streamlining it into a film of only 2 hours whilst retaining the bulk of the plot and emotion in the book. This is however where to a fan of the book the film falls down as the relationships are all hashed into one scene of a circus party where all the emotional interaction between characters is forced into one room. Which leaves the complex nature of the way Bill is thought of by every character in the book sadly underexposed so too is the character of Jim Prideaux who loses a lot of his depth as a character.
Overall however, this is a wonderful film with very little to say against it other than no lover of a book is ever completely happy with its translation to film but in this case it is a damn near perfect job and well worth a watch.