A great film beautifully shot

Rating: 8/10 (27 September 2011)

I really enjoyed this film. Gary Oldman's portrayal of George Smiley was brilliantly enigmatic. I liked the way the characters and locations were introduced verbally by another character and then visually in the film, so it was always clear where the action was taking place and who was in the scene. All the complex threads of the story were followed clearly. I remember trying to follow Tinker, Taylor, Soldier Spy when it was televised in days before video recordings were available and, if you missed an episode, you lost the plot! Not so with this film, which with a strong cast and intelligent filming makes for a completely engaging film. It will keep you guessing and get you trying to work out who the mole is to the very end. It was great to watch and the music was well chosen, complementary and not intrusive, never obscuring the dialogue. It makes a change for a film to challenge you to try to anticipate the twists and turns of the plot. This is definitely a watch-again film and I look forward to seeing more like it.