Devil's in the detail

Rating: Null/10 (19 September 2011)

I had been eagerly anticipating this film and I was definitely not disappointed. Gary Oldman deserves at least a BAFTA, a SAG, a Golden Globe and a couple of Critics' Circle awards for his role. He is a superbly cool George Smiley. That being said, the who's who of British talent never fails to thrill and enthrall.
Not much can be said about the talent of the cast; they were all superb as expected. Mark Strong was a particularly tender Jim Prideaux, especially with Colin Firth's Bill Haydon. David Dencik as Toby Esterhase brought out the fear of the Iron Curtain brilliantly and Tom Hardy was as soft as he was cocky as Ricky Tarr.
The music, however did not quite live up to expectations. A lot more could have been done to dramatise the climactic scenes in the meeting house in London, much the same as Hans Zimmer did in Inception.
But the one thing viewers should note is that this is a film which should be watched minutely, as the devil really is in the detail.