26/05/2012: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy [2011]

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a movie that was hyped about for quite a long time and yet, in the end never came to a theatre near me. I was a little disappointed, and only now have I finally had the chance to see it. For those of you who don't enjoy slow-burn mystery thrillers, stay away, the rest of you, jump on in.





 I do truly love the spy film genre, although, I find it a little lacking in the area I enjoy most. Sure, Tom Cruise is a spy in Mission Impossible, but I went a spy story from the Cold War, where, gadgets were only as good as the agents, and the games was played by major powers, and not just overpowered agencies, with the same falsely accused, going rogue story. I want a period piece from the World Wars or the Cold war, a thriller Robert Ludlum would have conceived, and with a slow-burn that in the end, gives us the twist never expected. So... did Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Hold up to these dreams and wishes?

In the end, I may have had some very particular requests of my next spy movie, but even with those looming overhead I will acknowledge that TTSS gave me a great spy movie, if not the one of my dreams. I know that TTSS is based on a book, or a series of books? But I have never read it, so can not compare. All I know was that TTSS was supposed to be a great spy movie, with of course, much of the hype surrounding Gary Oldman, who stars. If you have ever seen Gary Oldman, you know that he is one of the best chameleons in the business, and any character, no matter how small, will always be phenomenal and Oldman will completely own the part. So George Smiley was undoubtedly going to be one hell of a character.

Imagine a witty comment about Gary Oldman swimming nude, and being old with another man.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is set in the early 70's and deals with George Smiley, a retired MI6 agent, who is brought out of retirement to hunt down a soviet agent who has penetrated the British Intelligence Agency. First off, anything involving the Soviet intelligence agencies is always the best, and it is even better that the movie has the British as the good side. I for one am tired of the CIA, who always seem to be their own bad guys. Really, is it that bad? Anyways, MI6, while always having its own problems is generally a better story.

So, Smiley is now returned to hunt amongst his old co-workers and friend to figure out who is the deep undercover Soviet agent. Of course, things slowly unveil, and events perspire to reveal the clues we need to solve this mystery, but can you?

She has to be one of the Lord of the Rings elves, yes?

The most unfortunate part my watching this movie, was that I watched it over to days, and this most definitely affected how well I pieced together the clues. Couple that with the fact that I can never get names straight, and well... I'm not entirely sure what happened. But one good sign is that I will eventually give this movie another try, as I want to understand it. However, this movie is one that many will love or hate solely on its pacing. This is a slow-burn spy thriller that doesn't crank up the heat beyond a couple of flare ups. Don't expect Jason Bourne style action, TTSS is about the wordplay, and the relationships and every little detail that gets revealed to you, and they aren't all nicely explained for you.

The cast of course, is very well done, but I only recognized a couple of them. I think they were mostly British actors, which is great, because while unknown to Hollywood, they are actors of impressive calibre, and they become the characters entirely for me. Without internet I can't look up who is who, but you won't be disappointed by the acting. Gary Oldman of course, does a great job, creating a deeply layered character who yet reveals very little. That takes skill.

In the end, I didn't completely understand TTSS enough to wholly appreciate it, but I think it was a great piece of work, and anyone looking for a true Cold-war era spy vs. spy movie will enjoy it. Those wanting more flashy and Hollywood mainstream style spy movies might want to look elsewhere.

Link:
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy IMDb