'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy' (2011) - Movie Reivew

A lot can happen in 18 minutes: the Coen brothers can make you a fan of dark humour, Charlie Kauffman can clusterfuck your mind, Michael Bay can pump you so full of explosions and one-liners that you purge, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s name can finally finish loading on the screen, and in the case of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, we can wait 18 minutes for our cuckolded protagonist, played by Gary Oldman, to finally utter a word. 

It's daring in today's fast paced, James Bond-esque world of cinematic espionage to wait this long before giving your main man a line. It's also risky. So there we have it, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is daring and risky. In other words, we the audience are shaken and stirred.
 

And when George Smiley does finally break his silence, it is to tell a former colleague that he, along with his superior, Control (John Hurt), has been fired. This came after Control had sent a doomed MI6 agent to Hungary to find out who the Russian mole is in "The Circus" (MI6). The doomed agent, Jim Prideaux (Mark Strong) inevitably botches the mission. Smiley and company couldn't stray any further from what we are used to seeing in modern spy thrillers. 

It's during his forced retirement that Smiley is brought back into the Circus to snuff out the double agent. It's the Cold War and the temperature has plummeted to a new low. No one is safe from Smiley's watchful eye with photographs of all the potential double agents attached to chess pieces. Each agent having been assigned a name from the nursery rhyme that the film gets its title from. 

So which one of these Brits is actually the Bolshevik under the bed? Perhaps it's the "poisoned dwarf" Percy Alleline (Toby Jones) - "Tinker"? Or is it the suave, cock-and-balls Bill Haydon (Colin Firth) - "Tailor"? Or perhaps the stern faced Roy Bland (Ciaran Hinds) - "Soldier"?  Or the Circus's bobble-head doll Toby Esterhase (David Dencik) - "Poor man"? All we know for sure is that Control was so suspicious of the whole lot that he even had Smiley's ("Beggar man") face stuck on a chess piece. 

And just when you think you are ready to do what my mother does - proudly shout out the name of the culprit - expect to be humbled by yet another unforeseen turn. This is what we should call a humbling film. When I first saw it at the cinema I found it baffling, humbling, confusing and dreary. Note: keep the remote close at all times.

 If you are wondering how le Carre came to write such a believable spy story, look no further than the life of David Cornwell (le Carre's real name). Cornwell was once a real life spy, until he was betrayed by Kim Philby, the MI6 operative who was acting as a double agent for the Russians. After learning this fascinating fact the film takes on a whole new meaning.

John le Carre and Gary Oldman

There are two things that initially stand out about this latest adaption of John le Carre's superb spy novel. Firstly, the cast. It's filled with Her Majesty's finest - and perfectly seasoned - subjects. From Gary Oldman to John Hurt, Colin Firth to Mark Strong, Toby Jones to Simon McBurney, and Tom Hardy to Benedict Cumberbatch, just to name a few. 

Secondly, the weather. This is England's gloomy side. Whereas James Bond always finds himself strutting along some exotic beach, in a pair of fashionable budgie smugglers, Smiley takes a dip in the icy Thames, before staring up at an overcast sky. Visually it's a film that deals in greys and browns. Yet this uninspiring setting is perfect for a story that is knee deep in the muck of Cold War paranoia. 

There's an early scene which rather perfectly sums up our man Smiley. It involves a car full of men and a bee. Buzzing around like it owns the place; the bee doesn't give a damn about personal space. Two of the men scoff and flap at the bee, in a flustered effort to get rid of it, while Smiley sits back and watches the bee. He doesn't scoff. He doesn't swipe. He doesn't even blink. Smiley simply watches the bee, studying its every movement, and when the time is right he subtly winds down the window.

Created to mirror le Carre's disillusionment with the agency he once worked for, and the author's socially offbeat personality, Smiley has interested readers and viewers for decades. Those of you who were around in 1979 might remember the character of Smiley being brought to life by the great Alec Guinness. Guinness transformed himself into George Smiley - glasses intact. So when it came to Gary Oldman, another seasoned veteran of the craft, folks wondered what he would be able to do with a character that was so well embodied by Guinness.

Oldman doesn't disappoint. He's slow to speak, quick to listen and mysteriously grey (there's that word again). He possesses a greater intellect than those around him, that's plain to see, but he also appears to be weighed down by those who he has dared to love. This is the first time we are introduced to the strong themes which are interwoven through the character’s lives – longing and love lost. Smiley is quietly haunted by memories of his faithless wife and his Russian nemesis: Ann and Karla - both of whom we never see the faces of.

"He was by appearance one of London's meek who do not inherit the Earth." - John le Carre on Smiley.

The rest of the cast acts with precision and purpose. Firth fits the cock-and-balls character of Bill Haydon well - he's about as likeable as Margaret Thatcher was in the boroughs of Merseyside. Behind this character's wit and gall we find a disillusioned and jaded bugger. He's screwed around, thrashed naysayers and slithered his way into Control's Circus. And it's in the work party flashback scene - which slowly plays throughout the entire film - that Firth really displays his chops. Every red blooded male would grind his teeth over the look Haydon gives Smiley's less-than-faithful wife.

If Firth's Bill isn't likeable then I'm not sure that the rest of the circus is either. Percy is smug and resembles a little yap-happy dog that growls and nips at your heels, only to run away when you size him up. Toby is as desperate and dim-witted as spies come and Roy's proletarian look doesn't exactly win hearts. In fact, it's only Control that really registers warm feelings from audiences, perhaps due to his uncensored nature. 

Control: You Calvinistic, penny pinching Scot. Can you not learn to take a bloody order? Nobody tampers with the recipe. It’s going to take us five hours to get drunk on this monkey’s piss.

It's in the two young and vibrant members of the cast - Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hardy - that similarities are drawn to James Bond. Cumberbatch plays Smiley's Watson well (funny thing that!). He slinks around headquarters, doing the physical spying that Smiley has resigned from. The snatch scene, where Peter goes into the archives, is suspenseful and rather thrilling. '90s action film fans will be gobsmacked that the scene plays out without one gun being pulled! 

Hardy plays the aptly named ruffian of the film - Ricki Tarr. Returning from Iron Curtain territory, Ricki is seeking to save the life of his Russian love, who appears to have "treasure" (information) well worth an extradition ticket. In Smiley, Ricki finds a friendly ear, of course, but we always have a feeling that those involved in muddied (sexual) relationships do not prosper in this film. Although, Hardy is exciting and a true flash of intrigue. 

Not to be ignored is Peter Straughan and Bridget O'Connor's intriguing screenplay. (Bridget O'Connor sadly passed away before the film was completed in 2010.) It wouldn't be easy adapting any of John le Carre's novels, given their depth and attention to detail, but adapting Tinker Tailor is another kettle of fish altogether. The novel has been turned into films and TV series in the past, with the 1979 BBC series – Smiley's People – running for 350 minutes. So what could the Swedish director (Tomas Alfredson) and his team of writers offer in a two hour time slot? Answer: a fresh take.

 It's rare to hear one say that a film ought to have been longer, but Tinker Tailor should've been extended a good half-hour. That's not to criticise the screenplay, it is true to the spy game in its pace, it just should've gone deeper into the actions of certain Circus members. The dialogue is classy, unforgiving and rather memorable. Every scene appears mapped out perfectly so that we can add another piece to Smiley's puzzle. The planned silences are accentuated by fantastic acting. It's hard to find a spy thriller as classy and as well acted, written and directed. 

One of my favourite aspects of this film is the link between Alfredson, le Carre and Smiley. We know that Smiley and le Carre share a common outlook, but what about Alfredson? How does the Swedish director take an All-England line-up and succeed? In talking to Empire magazine, it appears Alfredson is confident in his ability to direct le Carre's spy thriller, telling Empire that, "a lot of communication in silence is something I understand very well." All three are loners and nerds; in other words they are true spies. They know the life of a spy and the character of Smiley intimately.

Intriguing and absorbing, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy invites you into the dreary world of Cold War espionage. The martinis are disguised as whiskey glasses – or tea cups if you prefer a non-alcoholic beverage – and nobody in a suit can be trusted. The result is brilliant. 

This one is for you, Smiley. 

10/10