Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is the story of Cold War spy veteran George Smiley’s search for a mole in the highest level of the British Secret Service (a.k.a. the Circus). Based on the extensive and brilliant novel by John le Carre and following the footsteps of the critically acclaimed TV Mini Series with the epic Alec Guiness, this film has a lot to live up to. Luckily, under the pressure and high expectations placed on the script, cast and production they all deliver respectably. Gary Oldman is a heavy, melancholic and undeniably excellent George Smiley. Both Cumberbatch and Hardy uphold the hype around them with strong performances. And despite the undeniably Hollywood pretty-boy niche most of the cast fit in they deliver the right amount of raw human emotion that le Carre was trying to achieve. Most notably, Colin Firth, playing one of the most difficult roles in the admirable but heavily damaged Bill Haydon, is nothing short of impressive. Having read the book you might notice the fundamental simplification of the plot, but the only thing that may truly bug one is the seemingly unnecessary disruption of the order of events. With the lack of the thorough backstory le Carre provides the cast try their best to build, develop and break their characters in just over two hours, yet there is no time to even glimpse into David Dencik’s Toby Esterhase and Ciarán Hinds’s Roy Bland who get eaten up by the short script. Some of the scenes seem mildly relevant and at times the rapid scene-cutting-in-order-to-leave-questions-hanging-in-the-air might get annoying, but quintessentially the film grabs that one core idea that makes the story the heavy, suspenseful and dynamic thriller it is and despite its, at times obvious flaws (including the inevitable sex scene that is never mentioned in the book),without a single action scene or high speed car chase, it keeps alive that one thing which many modern film directors seem to purposefully eradicate (cough Micahel Bay cough)– a soul.
Mirela Ivanova
No comments:
Post a Comment