A superb retelling of a Cold War Classic

Rating: 9/10 (14 January 2012)

This is a retelling of the novel of the same name. It is NOT a remake of the 1979 film starring Sir Alec Guinness as George Smiley. The 1979 film was not actually a film; rather it was a mini series with over 12 hours of material (the UK version was, in fact, slightly longer!). Hence the reason why I consider this is a retelling; not a remake, as it is much different than the original screen adaptation.
The 1979 version was filmed during the cold war; when actual Russian actors were not available for use in Russian roles. Remember the 1965 movie "Dr. Zhivago"? A true classic, set entirely in Russia, yet none of the actors were Russian - heck, the title role was acted by an Egyptian!! Same problem existed in 1979; when even the filming for the East European location of Czechoslovakia was actually done in Glasgow, Scotland! Nowadays, Eastern European locations can be filmed where set and the Russian roles can and are portrayed by native Russians, and this version (2011) has done precisely that. This adds a considerable amount of authenticity to this film. Also, the London shown in this film, is shown as the grimy, still somewhat war dirtied, place that is still was in 1973. It was quite an achievement to show it as that in the film as the London of today is actually a very clean and modern city that has been restored to its height of empire glory.
If you want a "James Bond" type spy movie-this is NOT it. This is a spy movie based on actual events (the Kim Philby scandal). The actors do a good job of portraying fear and nervousness as anybody involved in these types of actual events would be in a not inconsiderable state of anxiety until everything was resolved. A mole has been detected, but not identified, in the highest realms of British Intelligence. Or, is there actually one?? And, if there is one, how could one possibly find this mole? To find out, watch the movie. Don' trust me or anybody else, see the movie yourself to find out!