Excellent adaptation - but suffers from length

Rating: 8/10 (27 September 2011)

I thought Tinker, Tailor, was shot beautifully and the acting was of the incredibly high standard you would expect from such stalwarts. The script was good, and I enjoyed the (deliberate) pacing - certainly took its time. I watched it at the Cambridge Film Festival.
I do have a couple of minor points though. There is a terrific scene (the droplet of sweat on the table - for those that have seen the movie) - it really showed the tension and paranoia I imagine someone in the profession must live with every day. That level of paranoia was relaxed after the scene and I don't feel it was ever regained, which is a shame.
I also thing the film suffered from its length - oddly enough it was too short. If you were not familiar with the book or the Alec Guinness mini-series I imagine it would be very hard to follow the film. I understand that if they had released a 3-4 hour film with this pace, it would of been difficult (and uncomfortable) for cinema audiences. I do feel that, although, it is absolutely cinematic, it would have made a stunning mini-series (again!). Perhaps there will be a longer version on DVD?