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Zimbio Review - 'TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY'

By Joe Robberson on

Gary+Oldman in Premiere Of Focus Features'

(L-R) Actors Mark Strong, Gary Oldman and Colin Firth arrive at the premiere of Focus Features' "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" at Arclight Cinema's Cinerama Dome on December 6, 2011 in Hollywood, California. (Getty Images)more pics »

The Bottom Line
Should you see it?
YesWhy?
One of the smartest films of the year. The great cast and dense plot is engaging on so many levels, it's impossible not to appreciate such a professional film.
Based on John le Carre's novel of 1974, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a headlong dive into the world of Cold War espionage. The film begins in the middle of the story, as le Carre's book does, and the action does not cease. From start to finish, Tinker Tailor is filled with a bevy of characters, (some seen, some not), sources, settings, and questions which make it one of the most dense, intriguing films of the year. Directed by Tomas Alfredson and written by Peter Straughan and the late Bridget O'Connor, the story pivots around one element: the Soviets have infiltrated the highest levels of MI6 (the British CIA), colloquially known as "The Circus," and one man has been tasked with exposing the mole.

MI6 chief Control (John Hurt) taps agent Jim Prideaux (Mark Strong) to go to Budapest to meet with a Russian general who knows the identity of a suspected mole within the top ranks of The Circus. Prideaux is to convince the general to defect, but the mission goes horribly wrong and soon after, Control dies of a heart attack. Enter George Smiley (Gary Oldman), Control's recently-retired, taciturn right-hand who is called back to action by Undersecretary Oliver Lacon (Simon McBurney) to discover the mole. Smiley is bound by a sense of duty, but also a desire to redeem his former boss' and his own reputation after the Budapest fiasco. Alfredson uses flashbacks to fill in the holes as Smiley visits all the players and attempts to piece the puzzle together.

Control had narrowed the suspects to five men: "Tinker" Percy Alleline (Toby Jones), "Tailor" Bill Haydon (Colin Firth), "Soldier" Roy Bland (Ciarin Hinds), "Poor Man" Toby Esterhase (David Dencik), and George Smiley himself, "Beggarman." These five men make up The Circus, along with Control, and the danger of one of them being a mole has worldly implications.

Smiley needs an inside man and enlists Peter Guillam (Benedict Cumberbatch), an agent, with retrieving documents for him from the MI6 archives. As it looks more and more like Control was right about the mole, Smiley meets with another ex-Circus employee, Connie Sachs (Kathy Burke), who puts him onto a Russian spy named Polyakov. The key to unraveling the mystery, however, is Ricki Tarr (Tom Hardy), an off-the-reservation MI6 "scalp hunter" who, through an affair with a Russian spy's wife, knows "the mother of all secrets."

Smiley (a misnomer if there ever was one) remains unchanged and unemotional in the face of everything he discovers. He is methodical in his investigation and stoic even when his wife's affair becomes known in a flashback scene at a Christmas party. There is another scene where we hear Smiley's thoughts as voices travel through his mind. Is he as confused and disoriented as we the viewers, or is he putting everything together? The payoff comes in a fantastic sequence which ends the film, as all the suspects shed their facades and reveal themselves.

The pieces all fit perfectly in Tinker Tailor. Oldman

stands out amongst a fantastic cast. His professional, understated performance is a marvel. Known for playing extroverts and psychos, Oldman has said he had been waiting for this role his entire life. He uses subtle body language and posture to capture the complexity of Smiley.

Hurt is bombastic as the frustrated Control. He is a leader of men, but cannot hide his disgust as he weighs who in his inner-circle may be betraying him. The quartet of Jones, Firth, Hinds, and Dencik are almost always seen together. A formidable pack of gentlemanly devils all with mysterious motives. They are made more formidable when we see them all inside the Circus' conference room: a flesh-colored, soundproof box straight out of Lynch. Jones and Firth stand out amongst the suspects. Jones as the ambitious Alleline, and Firth the acerbic Haydon who delivers the script's best lines. Tom Hardy plays Tarr with a uneasiness that conveys his years of living behind the curtains. Mark Strong also deserves mention as the disgraced and wounded Jim Prideaux. He carries the film's heaviest theme: betrayal, like a cinder block around his neck with a subtle vulnerability that proves his worth as one of the best English character actors.

In his first English-language film, Alfredson scores with his deft maneuvering of a complex script. He doesn't rush, and paces the scenes where Smiley is figuring it all out beautifully. His film is a two-hour condensed version of a multifaceted, meticulous novel that was adapted into a six-hour mini-series in 1979. This is also a testament to an outstanding script, which uses a scene not in the book, a Christmas party, as a plot device to convey key points. Alfredson and his cinematographer, Hoyte Van Hoytema, have a natural sense for developing narrative, and more importantly, suspense, as the spool unravels. Their vampire masterpiece, Let the Right One In, combined all the elements of a fantastic suspense thriller and Tinker Tailor uses some of the same techniques: off-center framing, long establishing shots, and vivid close-ups. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a fantastic period piece. The 1970's are brought back to life as effectively as in other post-modern classics like David Fincher's Zodiac. Like Smiley himself, Alfredson fit all the pieces of the puzzle in place and has made one of the best films of 2011.

For more photos of the Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy premiere: