Novelist John le Carre worked for the British intelligence services in the 1950s and ‘60s, providing him with the insight and material to write his books. The international success of his third novel – The Spy Who Came in from the Cold – enabled him to take up writing full-time. In forty years, le Carre has written 22 novels, with eight turned into feature films (and countless others adapted for television).
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, directed by Tomas Alfredson, is the latest, adapted by the husband and wife team of Bridget O’Connor and Peter Straughan. Bridget sadly died of cancer before the release of the film.
The plot
When there appears to be a mole working for the Soviets in MI6 in the 1970s at the height of the Cold War, George Smiley is called back from forced retirement to identify the traitor.
It’s not the most straightforward of plots and what appears to be an elaborate maze of unconnected stories - a shooting in Budapest, a missing Soviet woman in Istanbul, an agent in hiding in a safe house in north London – is somehow shuffled together and eventually pans out into something a little less elaborate.
The mole has been narrowed down to one of four (Smiley himself was the fifth but his ‘retirement’ removed him from suspicion) and it’s up to the less than avuncular George, along with sidekick Peter Guillam (an excellent Benedict Cumberbatch), to root out the rogue operative.
Quietly going about its business
Do not expect histrionics, shoot-outs or car chases across European capital cities. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is an unhurried, sequential expose of the truth.
As Smiley, Gary Oldman gives a career-defining performance. It’s low-key, it’s quiet, observing, watching, listening. To Smiley, the answer lies in the detail – the (handwritten) log sheet from a year back, the expenses claim from a deadman hidden in the plethora of archived paperwork. To Oldman, the performance lies in the detail.
Through caliginous, grainy film stock, predominantly claustrophobic interior shots and an atmospheric score, the feature builds on paranoia, mistrust and uncertainty. It’s intrinsically a compelling espionage story set at the time when anything could happen between the super powers.
And with a film with such attention to detail rather than action, the film’s strength is ultimately the sheer depth of the ensemble performances – from Oldman and Cumberbatch to the four suspected moles, Colin Firth, Toby Jones, Ciaran Hinds and David Dencik. But there’s also John Hurt as Control, Tom Hardy as rogue agent Ricky Tarr and Mark Strong, whose shooting in Budapest launches the story.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy will not please everyone. It’s challenging in its slow unpeeling of evidence: a weary face clothed in shadow says a hundred words, clues are gained from working pedantically through those archived files. But as it builds the tension, so it questions Cold War ethics and unquestioning loyalty. George himself knows of betrayal as his wife has an affair with Bill Haydon (Colin Firth), Mark Strong feels his friendship within ‘the Circus’ (MI6) is ultimately betrayed.
Personal rating: 4 stars
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
- Directed by Tomas Alfredson (Let the Right One In, Four Shades of Brown)
- Written by Bridget O’Connor (Sixty Six, Mrs Ratcliffe’s Revolution), Peter Straughan (The Debt, The Men Who Stare at Goats)
- Produced by Tim Bevan (Green Zone, Atonement), Eric Fellner (Green Zone, Atonement), Robyn Slovo (Catch a Fire, Morvern Caller)
- Starring Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight, Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban), Colin Firth (The King’s Speech, Bridget Jones’ Diary), Tom Hardy (Inception, Warrior)
Keith Lawrence - Published writer of articles in magazines, newspapers and websites, predominantly on culture, alongside ghostwriter/editor/copywriter.
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