Not bad, but not good.

Rating: 6/10 (27 September 2011)

I was disappointed in this film. Admittedly, I expected great things from it, with its fantastic (and mostly British) cast, but there were a number of things that let it down for me.
Firstly, the plot was complicated and hard to follow, and in my opinion some scenes could easily have been shortened or cut altogether. The flashbacks were also difficult to understand in places.
Furthermore, it was unclear how and why the mole started working for the other side as well as his own. I also would have liked to have seen more of Smiley's train of thought as he figured out the identity of the spy, as there was no real way to make an educated guest as to which member of the circus it was.
However, I wouldn't say that it was a bad film. It just wasn't the masterpiece I felt the writers and actors were capable of delivering.