When I first watched the trailer for Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy during the summer, I knew this movie was going to be gold. When I found out it would be a limited release, I had a temper tantrum shit fit. I didn't shake my fist at the heavens, but at NY and LA. Those sons of bitches. Those are the limited release havens of the world. I know ... first world problems are pretty rough. Luckily for me, I live very close to the nation's capital. So generally in between its limited to wide release, DC gets some bones tossed their way. It was released December 9th, but finally hit TWO DC theaters several weeks later.
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy was written by John le Carré in 1974. Carré has other film adaptations of his novels, such as The Tailor of Panama and The Constant Gardener. Interestingly enough, I read The Constant Gardner in an English film class and was able to write a paper about it. So I thought it was really cool to be able to come back again and talk about John le Carré’s work. Tinker, Tailor takes place in the 1970’s, during the thick of the cat-and-mouse games of the Cold War. After an operation in Hungry goes terribly wrong, Control (John Hurt), the head of MI6 British Intelligence (the Circus) and his right-hand man, George Smiley (Gary Oldman) are forced into early retirement. Later it is brought to Smiley’s attention that there is a Russian mole within the Circus. Since he no longer works there, Smiley is quietly tasked to flush out the mole who has been giving the Russians secrets for years.
Along with a list of other great movies I have been waiting to see, Tinker, Tailor. It did not disappoint in any way, shape or form. Before I get into the movie: The. Acting. Was. Flawless. We have Gary Oldman, John Hurt, Mark Strong, Toby Jones, David Dencik, Ciarán Hinds, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, and Benedict Cumberbatch. There is a scene where all the main characters are sitting around the table in the sealed room arguing over something (room where you can speak freely, talk about secrets and not worry about any bugs/recording devices). I can remember sitting there in awe watching all this acting power be in one scene at the same time. It was nothing short of movie gold smacking me repeatedly in the face.
John le Carré lends his knowledge of his story and helps director Tomas Alfredson (Let the Right One in) and they nail this one right on the head. A movie like Tinker, Tailor can be a tricky one for different people. It isn’t a fast paced movie and not a whole lot is going on. If these two things are true, then how the hell was I so engrossed the entire time? It doesn’t make sense. Not very often do I find myself leaning over in my seat with my elbows on my knees and my fists propped under my chin like a little child watching TV. The plot and story is pretty thick. I mean it’s a who’s after whom, spy movie. You really had to pay attention to what was going on. I don’t mean that in a bad way either because what I was paying attention to had me totally sucked in.
I can understand why this movie wasn’t some action paced thrill ride. In reality this is probably how the spy world goes down, or at least then it did. It is old worn down men, making secret decisions, smoking like crazy and drinking strong liquor all the time. That’s why it’s the movie it is. It tells a realistic story, actually loosely related to real events during that time.
This was Gary Oldman’s movie. I was so excited to him take a lead role again. Unfortunately he only raises his voice once and never screams. I’ll overlook that. Seriously though, Oldman does his role so, so well. I could go on forever why each actor was awesome in this.
London is always shot in grey, shadowy skies. It seems like it may rain at any moment but never does. *cough* Cold War reference *cough*. You can feel a type of tension in the air throughout. It was weird how it was shot too. Almost all the shots are long distance shots. The camera was literally far away and zooms in on the actors while they delivered their lines. You almost feel like you are someone watching something you shouldn’t be. You are looking from a distance as to what is going on; as would a spy would do trying to gather intel by listening in on a conversation.
Everyone knows something and has their secrets. You spend the whole time trying to figure out yourself. Unfortunately at times, even while paying attention, the movie figures itself out before you get a chance to and you aren’t entirely sure as to what is going on. Smiley visually figures something out and you want to scream at the screen for him to tell you. You catch up to it all in the end.
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is a slow paced movie and by no means is that a bad thing in this case. It is the tortoise that beats the hare in the end. It doesn’t have to blow you out of the water to win the race. I don’t know what I loved more; the way it was shot, the acting, the events that take place … I don’t know. I think the fact that everything just falls together so beautifully is what makes this movie so, so great. I complain about having to wait in watching such great movies like this in theaters. There are a lot of people who have waited to see this and it will never come to a theater near them. This movie holds strong at 86%. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is now in wide release. Please do your utmost and catch this spy masterpiece.
