A Mole in the British Intelligence Service (M16)

Rating: Null/10 (4 December 2019)

At the beginning, British agent Jim Prideaux (Mark Strong) is sent to Budapest to speak with a Hungarian general who wants to defect to the West. The general also knows the name of the mole that infests the British Secret Service (known as "The Circus"). As the arrangement was a Soviet set-up, it goes badly with Prideaux being shot. Because of the disaster, agents "Control" (John Hurt) and "Beggerman" (George Smiley = Gary Oldman) are dismissed from service.
Out of retirement, Smiley is given an independent assignment to ferret out the mole in the Circus. The top men there are Smiley and Control's successors: Percy Alleline (Toby Jones) as the new chief, Bill Haydon (Colin Firth) as the deputy, and Roy Bland (Ciaran Hinds) and Toby Esterhase (David Dencik) as the two lieutenants.
Smiley picks Peter Guillam (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Mendel (Roger Lloyd Pack) to assist him. Smiley is not the dashing James Bond type of spy with the fast cars, the sexy girls, and the quick gun. On the contrary, he wears eyeglasses, speaks softly, and walks slowly. Smiley is contained and cool, and cunning and brilliant. He absorbs information like a dry sponge on a puddle of water. He rarely raises his voice, and he does so after he has trapped the culprit at the end: "What are you then . . ."
To complicate matters in a fairly complicated movie, there are sub-stories, like Smiley's wife Ann leaving him. There is another story, with Ricki Tarr (Tom Hardy) who works for Guillam. Tarr has an affair with pretty blonde Soviet agent Irina (Svetlana Khodchenkova) whom he met in Istanbul. She wants to defect, but the mole tells the Russians, who capture her. Tarr wants her back.
Meanwhile the top four at The Circus, Smiley's successors, have formed a secret organization known as "Witchcraft" unknown to Smiley. Witchcraft was created to obtain sensitive information from the Soviets in the name of Polyakov (Konstantin Khabensky). In reality, Polyakov is playing a game as he is a Soviet spy, not really a double agent, who works for the USSR! He obtains good information, while providing little (as Smiley says, "glitter amongst the chicken feed"). What the United States tell the Circus, will be told to the Kremlin.
Smiley is surprised to learn that Prideaux is back in England teaching a class in school. He lives in a trailer. The Soviets actually returned him after getting all they could out of him.
Control creates a list of mole suspects with code names
"Tinker" - Percy Alleline
"Tailor" - Bill Haydon
"Soldier" - Roy Bland
"Poor Man" - Toby Esterhase
"Beggarman" - Smiley (not really a suspect)
Smiley finds out that Toby is a messenger to the others, who are leakers in one way or another. He forces Toby, who may have been duped, to provide Polyakov's Paris safe house address. There a meeting is taking place with Polyakov and the mole. It is Haydon. After being captured by Smiley, Haydon is being held in detention to be exchanged for another. But Prideaux finds out and shoots him with a high-powered rifle. Meanwhile, Ann has returned to Smiley. The last scene shows Smiley heading to work: he is now the new "Control" and awaits his new team.
In keeping with the spirit of the times of the Cold War, England is sufficiently chilly and gray throughout. The movie is complicated with many characters, but they are all good actors. The film is based upon the espionage novel by British author John le Carré. He has a cameo: You will catch of glimpse of him at the Soviet Embassy's Christmas celebration singing a patriotic song.