A tribute to British acting talent

Rating: Null/10 (25 September 2011)

Languid and laconic are the words that most come to mind when recalling this accomplished film adaptation of the famous John le Carre novel of 1974. The plot unfolds slowly and the silences are prolonged; yet the pacing and paucity work so well in this espionage drama because the direction by Swedish Tomas Alfredson is so assured, the script by British husband & wife team Peter Straughan & the late Bridget O'Connor is so compelling, and the multi-talented cast is so superlative.
We are used to the British Gary Oldman playing American characters of evil intent, but here he is brilliant as George Smiley, the resilient and lugubrious hunter of the mole in MI6's Circus. He heads a roll-call of terrific British talent which includes John Hunt, Colin Firth, Toby Jones, Mark Strong, Tom Hardy, Ciarán Hinds and Benedict Cumberbatch. Even le Carre makes a momentary appearance. This is a very male movie but Kathy Burke rounds off what is almost an embarrassment of thespian ability in one film.
If you've not read the novel or seen the 1979 BBC serialisation (as I haven't), you may struggle at times to follow each twist in this tale of betrayal at so many levels, but this does not spoil the experience so much as encourage a second viewing.