An intelligence period spy thriller

Rating: 9/10 (27 September 2011)

In recent years we have seen an expansion in the spy thriller genre, whether it is the new Bond series and the Bourne trilogy, the action-originated films like the Mission Impossible series and Salt, to contemporary affairs like Body of Lies and Rendition. This new adaptation of the John le Carre novel sets out to be a much more complex and grounded affair.
In 1973 a failed operation in Budapest, Hungary forces Control (John Hurt), the head of the British Secret Intelligence Service (better known as the Circus) and his loyal deputy George Smiley (Gary Oldman) to resign in disgrace. A year later, the new head of the Circus Sir Percy Alleline (Toby Jones) believes the time is right to share intelligence with the American about their top source in Moscow, Witchcraft. But a returning agent, Ricki Tarr (Tom Hardy) reports that one of the top men at the Circus is a Soviet Mole. Smiley is brought from the cold in to investigate these claims with Circus handler Peter Guillam (Benedict Cumberbatch) and ex-police officer Mendel (Roger Lloyd-Park). He digs deeper to find out a secret that could rock the British intelligence establishment.
Coming off the back of Let the Right One In Tomas Alfredson makes a very complex, slow burning thriller. The mystery is unveiled gradually and Alfredson shows a stark, cold world of espionage. Even the interior of the Circus' headquarters, is a dark, soulless place particular because of the historical exterior. There is no glamour in this world, action is kept to a minimum and when it does happen it is very quick and brutal. This stark tone is established early on with a slow, tense build up, with a subtle score knowing something is wrong and results with an innocent woman getting shot in the head. Alfredson and the writing team certainly capture the plot of the novel and the tone of realism whilst making some chances to make the film their own.
The cast is great, it is like a Harry Potter film, get some of the best British actors around. Everyone is natural and capture their characters. Oldman is not quiet the Smiley in the novel, who is described as having a frog/toad like appearance, chubby and betrayed as a nice if cool and lonely man. Obviously Oldman does not look like and his version of Smiley is that he is a harsher person and very internal, but he is still very intelligence, focused man and the best man to solve this case. Hardy makes out that Ricki Tarr to be a very softly spoken and seemingly meek, who just happens to be an MI6 assassin and field officer. He is almost like a lost boy thrown into a complex world as he is thrown into something he could rock his world. Jones developed a strange accent as he is very accurate to the character in the book. Firth too gives a strong performance as one of the few people at the Circus who shows competence. Cumberbatch shows why he is an emerging actor and pretty much has the second biggest role in the film.
The plot is loosely based on real-life double agent Kim Philby and le Carre's experience with him. The actual plot seems simple enough, the Soviets have planted a double agent who was able to rise high up into the upper epsilons of MI6 and able to feed them fake intelligence. But there is so much more to it in the way this mystery unfolds. Whilst it is impossible to show all the character backgrounds and internal politics that was described in the novel but Alfredson did what he could do to show it. Some of the characters were pushed aside because of it but Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a strong adaptation of a film that is both a smart spy thriller and a period piece.