Tinker, Tailor Soldier, Spy (2-Disc Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy + UltraViolet)
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Gary Oldman leads a stunning all-star cast in this masterful adaptation of the John le Carr‚ bestseller. At the height of the Cold War, a precarious operation goes deadly wrong, and the head of British Intelligence wonders if a double agent is leaking vital secrets. Brought out of retirement to expose the potential mole, master spy George Smiley (Oldman) is the only one who can be trusted to expose one of their own. Or can he? As the emotional and physical tolls mount on the high-ranking suspe
Tinker, Tailor Soldier, Spy (2-Disc Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy + UltraViolet)
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Fun at the Circus,
Probably like a lot of modern viewers, I had heard of but not read this book, nor seen the BBC TV series – Both were issued in the 1970′s.
I did though read a few summaries, knew that it was loosely based on British turncoat spy Kim Philby, and went into the movie understanding that it requires very careful attention to keep up with the involved plot. Seeing it cold, I still thought it was great, with terific performances by many decorated actors throughout the movie, and of course Gary Oldman is fantastic in the lead. In some ways, if like me you see it without knowing the story first, his character is done in a way that helps take you into the story, as he barely says anything in the first 15 or 20 minutes of the movie and just seems to be watching what all is going on. By the end, he has transformed into a strong character that has figured out the whole scheme.
While I loved the movie, even without having read the book to know the full story, it felt like the plot was overly compressed to fit within 2 hours. I watched it intently, but there were still a couple of developments in the plot, as done in the movie, that seemed like huge leaps, where the book must surely set it out better. So I’m now off to get the book and the BBC series, as it is such a great story, I want to get the full picture.
By the way, a viewing tip, courtesy of the Seattle Times movie reviewer – the many flashbacks can sometimes be confusing, but one way to help keep them straight is the glasses worn by Gary Oldman. He buys a new pair at the start of the movie, so the flashbacks show him with his old glasses – for the current events, he is wearing the new ones….
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|Intelligent,
This is a movie that is essentially a time warp. We are warped back into the seventies, when film was more grainy, the camera was actually steady, actors had substance, movies actually had a story to tell, and the audience was patient and intelligent.
By the standards of contemporary movie-making, when the first five minutes is usually an appetizer action sequence with a lot of explosions, this novel takes a really long time to get started, and the conflict slowly unfolds. Gary Oldman does an excellent job of playing the understated George Smiley, who must uncover a Russian mole within the leadership circle of British intelligence while battling old age/insignificance and the loss of the love of his life. George Smiley is the unlikeliest of all action heroes, and this spy thriller the opposite of James Bond. It doesn’t have the epic scale and consequence of “The Good Shepherd,” which was a great spy thriller in its own right. But “Tinker, Tailor” does work, and is a rare breed of film: a movie that stays loyal to the book while transforming onto the big screen.
What ultimately makes it work is the director’s steady hand, his willingness and courage to test the audience’s patience as he slowly builds up the plot, just as George Smiley patiently built his strategy to track down the Russian mole.
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