Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Review.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Review.

January 27, 2012, 5:41 pm
Filed under: Film Reviews | Tags: benedict cumberbatch, claran hinds, colin firth, covert intelligence, gary oldman, john hurt, movies, reviews, studio canal, thomas alfredson, tinker tailor soldier spy, toby jones

It’s been quite some time since we’ve seen a movie of “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’s” caliber.  It’s an espionage film teeming with shadows, deceit, false-turns, back-alley deals, murders, and acres of foreign names and bending plot points.  In short this is a thinking man’s movie.  It’s intensely smart and requires razor sharp attention to follow properly.  But as long as you can keep up, “TTSS” is surely one of this year’s most intriguing titles.

What first took me aback was how exceptional of a period piece TTSS is.  Right from the get go I noticed how elaborately 1970s the sets were.  From the suits, to the casual wear, to the seats, to the phones, to the lamps, to the film coloration, to the hair– you feel like you’re dropped right into the Cold War watching these events take place in real time.  Even “Mad Men” can’t touch TTSS in this regard.  But that’s exactly where TTSS lost me for a while.  There’s a lot of flip-flopping going on between the past and present and the only real indicator of time were the glasses George Smiley was wearing (Gary Oldman).  And when the information is this dense, it’s hard to keep up.

Here’s what you need to know: The Circus is a group of Mi6 officials who deal with covert intelligence.  The men involved are George Smiley, Control (John Hurt), Alleline (Toby Jones), Esterhase (David Dencik), Bland (Claran Hinds), and Haydon (Colin Firth).  Although Smiley is retired (fired, actually), he’s called back in to investigate a potential mole after an operation fails leaving Mi6 agent, Jim Prideaux, presumably dead (Mark Strong).  With him he brings Peter Guillam (Benedict Cumberbatch) and the rest is the mystery that unfolds.  At least… this is a minor summation of the overall, involved plot tree.

What’s exceptional here: the acting.  Everyone is superb, embodying their characters wonderfully.  There’s an intense realism to TTSS that makes it feel more like a history lesson than a piece of entertainment.  But on that same note, I found the fun-factor to TTSS lacking.  Although I appreciate the film’s prowess, I’m not certain that I enjoyed myself.  The twists and turns are only matched by how many people are constantly entering and leaving the script.  “I remember her from earlier! Why was she important then? How is she connected now? Why was she just killed???“  Maybe I was having an off-day, but comprehending TTSS proved rather difficult and it made the impact of sudden revelations fall entirely flat while I still tried to catch up to speed.  In the end I understood everything; it all makes sense.  But the resolution doesn’t make any waves.  For me there was never an, “Ah-ha!” moment that made the previous two hour journey feel worthwhile.  Yet again: maybe I was having an off-day.

There was something I wish director Thomas Alfredson illuminated a bit more though.  Among all the timeline swapping there was a particular party where everyone involved in Mi6 (and then some) attended.  You get a glimpse into what these people lived like, not who they were at work.  These short snippets could have been lengthened to give greater emotional weight to the characters and their impending actions.  I feel, too, that maybe there could have been more flashback events that dealt with not only the party, but potentially other intimate events that made the co-workers out to be more than just work partners.  Part of my ennui certainly stemmed from a lack of investment in who these characters were; all we ever really see is who they are when they’re consumed by the current mission at hand.  That’s fine and well for a movie that’s already hugely dense like this, but this moviegoer would have easily sat an extra thirty minutes if it meant I got to know the characters better.

I liked “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.”  It’s a very interesting movie that has no other similar titles this year.  But I did expect more from it.  For being almost 130 minutes, I’m not sure there was all that much substance to it besides the overarching plot.  There are certainly attempts at creating a well-rounded character piece, but Alfredson misses it just barely.  As a period piece he certainly swings and hits a home run though.  If anything see TTSS for the production values and the superb acting.  Oldman as Smiley is masterfully eerie, watching him subtly control every conversation he engages himself in.  He’s truly a master of espionage and right when you think he’s accomplished nothing, he’s solved everything.  TTSS hits the bullseye for the most part… just suppose I was asking for more.

Final Say: 3 Stars.

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