No plot; no characterization; intolerable experience

Rating: 1/10 (3 July 2012)

I gave up on this movie one hour in, when all I could discern was that there was a "mole" in the British spy service. I don't think that's really a spoiler since the subject of the film and novel is well known. However, when that is the only clear plot detail to emerge in an hour's time, you know the movie is a complete disaster.
Regardless of the who's who of British acting talent in the film, none of them under the misguided director's influence can save the experience from being dull, boring, confusing, and in the end, annoying.
Who are these characters; after an hour you still don't really know. Why are they all so depressing? You don't care because you really don't know them.
This may be one of the SLOWEST paced movies in cinema history. The actors mumble lines in a host of British accents; the musical score is slow; there is a lot of space between speeches; lots of deadpan staring; the director's art house cutting takes us all over the place without helping us to know where we are; flashbacks come and go but your not sure they are flashbacks. This is only part of the frustration of suffering through the first hour of the film. You keep on waiting and hoping for something INTERESTING to happen. You get nowhere!
No one seems to have bothered, and I am talking specifically about the director and screenwriter, to tell the story in this movie to keep the viewer interested; a damning and hideous flaw.
I decided to see the movie based on many of the positive reviews in the press. Well, I admit, to all, I gave up after 1 hour. I have no desire to return and see if things improved after that; doubtful, since the film is so consistently lifeless. Life is really too short to waste a minute of your time on this tedious exercise in obtuse anti-narrative.