Engrossing, suspenseful

Rating: 8/10 (8 January 2012)

The night I saw "Tinker," four people walked out halfway through it. Another person was heard to say, "This movie sucks." So it's not for everyone. But for the right viewer, it is two hours well spent. Each scene is brisk and highly polished. Skillfully assembled, the whole really shines. Perhaps its most effective storytelling device is a series of flashbacks to an office Christmas party. These, largely wordless, fill out the tale. And "wordless" is key. Many of the scenes don't have a lot of dialogue, and when people do talk, every word counts. So what this film mainly requires is attention. Without it, you will miss one of the best things about "Tinker": Gary Oldman's microscopic performance.