Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)

Leaving the cinema after viewing this film I heard a woman behind me say, "My head is so full!" And indeed it was--mine was too. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy makes the assumption that its audience is there to be challenged, and presents us with a difficult and beautiful culmination of cerebral storytelling and immense performances. Here is a spy film for the intellectual film-goer; I assure you there will be minimal talking from the peanut gallery in the theatre--everyone will be glued to the screen trying frantically to keep up with spies who are far too sharp for Joe and his family, the Schmo's.

Set in a tobacco and steely gray Cold War Britain circa 1973, a semi-retired spy, Mr. Smiley, is brought back into Central Intelligence, what is known as "The Circus", to flush out a mole who has infiltrated their operations at the highest level. Five are suspect, one implausible though the thought did flash through my mind at the onset, and it is up to Smiley with all of his resources that the audience is kept wondering about to find the traitor.

This film has none of the glamour or pulse-pounding action that American spy films have, but it looses none of the taught sense of urgency that comes from Hollywood films. The difference between the latter and this very British sort of espionage thriller is that the events in this film seem far more real, and much more deadly. The men in this film have very real limitations to the intelligence, their skill sets, and the emotional strength that never seems to end with characters like James Bond. There is a scene in which a younger spy must steal some documents from a place that is guarded, but not exactly high-level security. He pulls a fast move and succeeds, but it is clear that he is shaking from nerves. Little extras such as this strip away the cliches of the genre exposing the confusion as well as the true lack of incentive to remain loyal to the democracies, which are present many other Cold War movies.

That last point is challenged in so many ways by this film, and the actors giving their explanations of their own failings as a pro-Westerner are so spot on that it is unnerving. "McCarthyism" is an ugly term, but a film like this makes it seem not so irrational. I am very much a person who looks at film in much the same way that I look at paintings, or music, or any other artistic medium that can channel the undercurrents of a time and place, and illustrate sentiments about particular historical events. Film is an area that I feel is underused when studying social views in history. Even if this film is fictionalized and is made forty years after the period in which it is set, it still represents a particular way of thinking and of viewing a dark time in the history of the United Kingdom.

This film is very much a outlet for some truly praiseworthy performances, particularly that of Gary Oldman. He is an actor that consistently produces good work to the point that he is almost taken for granted. Vehicles like this film should be seen on a larger circuit to get Oldman into the spotlight more often. As George Smiley he is icy cold, observant, and far smarter than those he deals with. He is a man of few words and fewer actions, but his fixed gaze brings him insight into the inner workings of man. If only it could be turned on himself I wonder what he would see? As one character points out he has a blind spot, and that is his failed marriage. It offers a dimension to this character that runs very deep, but is explored so briefly it's fascinating.

Everyone else was perfectly cast as well, even if I was not doing mental gymnastics fast enough to figure out their importance. Many relationships were intriguing, and I wish that they had been explored further, if for no other reason that to give its supremely talented British cast including Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, and John Hurt more time to shine. It strikes me that I watch too many movies when I can guess the outcome of a film like this while not knowing how the characters are reaching the same conclusion. I knew how it would end simply because I did, but for Smiley it was far more complex and he was not able to simply jump over the middle as I did.

Emotionally this film is distant, perhaps not even present. It presents fallible characters, but does not seem to care about them one way or the other. This is matched by how beautifully it is shot, but with a result that seems mechanical and full of shadows. I like this film very much (though I do need to watch it a second time), but unfortunately it will not resonate with a larger audience.

3/4