Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy Review

Summery
Engaging, superbly acted, elegantly written and expertly brought together, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is a rampant success on every level, with a particularly standout turn from Gary Oldman

Full Review
Tomas Alfredson is quickly becoming one of my favourite directors. After his 2008 vampire masterpiece, the majestic “Let the Right One In”, my hopes where high that he would be able to deliver on this adaptation of John le Carré’s classic espionage tale: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

Alfredson demonstrates his directorial range in a film that is a very different beast to Let the Right One In, but carries a few fundamental similarities. As with Let the Right One In, the star of the film really is the tone of the film its self, as Alfredson masterfully creates a world that, while often gloomy and industrial feeling, manages to feel deep and fleshed out without ever really seeming to try too hard at all. It’s a dark and gloomy film with a complex and engaging narrative, it would have been an easy film to lose control and make a mess of, and without a master film-maker, there is a lot that could have gone wrong. Fortunately, Tomas Alfredson seems to be just that. Alfredson is a director with an unparalleled control of tone and mood, in addition to being an all round brilliant film-maker, and it shines through in every scene.

Tinker, Tailor gets so much right that’s hard to know where to begin, but one could do worse than start with one of the most talented casts ever assembled in any film, and it pays, delivering as good an ensemble performance as I can remember seeing. Gary Oldman is a roaring wonder in the main role as George Smiley, a British spy, forced out of British intelligence, but asked to come out of retirement to find a suspected mole. It’s a subtle, elegant performance from one of the most talented British actors of his generation, and probably the best lead performance in 2011. John Hurt and Benedict Cumberbatch in particular stand out, amongst the supporting characters, Cumberbatch in particular delivering a teriffic performance. Arguably the best scene of the film comes from a dialogue between Oldman and Cumberbatch that I wouldn't dream of spoiling, but it replays in my head as I write.

But what are great actors without great writing, and Bridget O’ Connor and Peter Straughn deliver a belter of a screenplay. Tinker, Tailor is about 90% dialogue, and a film like that just doesn’t work without great writing, it will make or break a film, and in this case, Tinker, Tailor delivers with panache and flair, without ever succumbing to flamboyance, it’s not a Social Network screenplay where the script steals the show. Rather, it gives the actors and the film exactly what they require to do their jobs to the fullest, in addition to a few show-stealing moments (particularly the aforementioned scene between Oldman and Cumberbatch). As much as the film gets right, I would be shirking my responsibilities if I were not to add, without giving anything away, that the ending does feel a little anticlimactic. It’s not bad by any stretch of the imagination, but I couldn’t help but feel somewhat let down by an ending that the film had been building so brilliantly towards. That aside however, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is a masterful piece of work, every man and woman in the process working magic, every cog in the machine doing it’s job, creating a phenomenal ensemble piece, the kind that only comes along a few times a decade, and that should be appreciated and heralded as what it is… a pretty damn good film.

Should I see it?
Tinker, Tailor doesn’t treat you like a child, and if you’re the sort of viewer who just wants a bit of escapism and popcorn for a few hours, than maybe give it a miss. But for the more intelligent and demanding viewer, don’t miss it for the world. See it ASAP.

Overall Score: 88