Tinkering with a literary masterpiece and a well loved television miniseries may seem to be cinematic suicide but the big screen adaptation of TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY (M) is a triumph.
Tailored from a sterling script by Bridget O’ Connor and Peter Straughan, this Cold War character study of deception and betrayal is superbly directed by Tomas Alfredson, a Scandinavian cineaste who came in from the cold with LET THE RIGHT ONE IN a few years ago.
Soldiered by an impressive cast, led by the entirely right enigmatic Gary Oldman as George Smiley, breathtakingly extraordinary in his breathtaking ordinariness.
Brought back from retirement to ferret out a mole hidden in the highest echelons of the British espionage establishment, Smiley conducts a clever, clandestine and covert operation to flush the agent who is running with the foxes whilst hunting with the hounds.
In his sights are Bill Haydon ( Colin Firth), Toby Esterhase (David Dencik), and Roy Bland(Ciarin Hinds), one of whom has been undermining the Circus, colloquial term for the Secret Intelligence Service.
Assisting Smiley’s spying on the spies is Peter Guillam (Benedict Cumberbatch) and field agent Ricki Tarr (Tom Hardy).
The mandarins of MI6 are played by an impressive clutch of actors comprising John Hurt, Toby Jones and Simon McBurney, and there’s superlative support from Mark Strong, Svetlana Khodchenkova and Kathy Burke, splendid as a retired colleague of Smiley’s.
Handsomely lensed by Hoyte van Hoytema who shot LET THE RIGHT ONE IN and more recently, THE FIGHTER, the cinematography complements the stunning production design of Maria Djurkovic and Jacqueline Durran’s costumes which brilliantly evoke the Seventies setting of the piece.
Completed by a beautiful score by Alberto Iglesias, who also composed the music for the film version of John Le Carre’s THE CONSTANT GARDENER, TINKER,TAILOR, SLDIER, SPY is an espionage thriller that relies on story rather than stunts.
© Richard Cotter
18th January, 2012
Tags: SYDNEY MOVIE REVIEWS- TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY, BRIDGET O’CONNOR, PETER STRAUGHAN, TOMAS ALFREDSON, GARY OLDMAN, COLIN FIRTH, DAVID DENCIK, CIARIN HINDS, BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH, TOM HARDY, JOHN HURT, TOBY JONES, SIMON MCBURNEY, MARK STRONG, SVETLANA KHODCHENKOVA, KATHY BURKE, HOYTE VAN HOYTEMA, MARIA DJURKOVIC, JACQUELINE DURRAN, ALBERTO IGLESIAS.