Tinker Tailor

Rating: Null/10 (8 October 2011)

'Lingering close-up shots of seemingly insignificant objects and shallow focus shots constantly evoke the nature of mystery and intrigue which surrounds such clandestine organisations'... said by another reviewer with absolute truth.
I cannot agree that this was a stunning film and I would really have liked to as I was looking forward to it. The atmosphere of seedy grey rooms and streets, suitable to the genre and era, was perfectly realised. What it lacked and caused its downfall was the absence of passion. Each character has a different passion and the film entirely failed to show this; the bond between Prideaux and Hayden was barely even hinted at. Smiley's Anne was a shadowy figure with nothing to explain the emotions and betrayal surrounding her which are key themes of the story.
As I was watching all I could think was that, despite good performances from Strong, Cumberbatch, Hurt and Hardy, the TV series was so much better. Oldman is without doubt a talented and chameleon actor who, perhaps due to the director, delivered an Alec Guinness impersonation instead of making the role his own. Colin Firth was bland, uncharismatic and miscast. All in all, despite a stellar cast list and story, this film misses by a mile and I'll be buying the Alec Guiness DVD.
Tomas Alfredson has a lot to learn.