It’s interesting to see how the spy world in John le Carré’s novels differs sharply from the one in Ian Fleming’s. Whereas James Bond was a dashing playboy of a spy and the good and bad guys were easy to tell apart, the spies in Carré’s world are in a morally gray world. No one is innocent and everyone has something to hide from others or even themselves. Here there are no gunfights or explosions and instead conflicts which are both internal and external. Even the people we look up to in Carré’s novels are deeply flawed, and you can quickly see why no one can truly trust one another.
No book in Carré’s vast library work exemplifies this more than “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” which features his most famous character of George Smiley. Originally turned into a brilliant BBC miniseries back in 1979 with Sir Alec Guinness as Smiley, it has now been made into a motion picture with Gary Oldman in the lead role. Whereas the miniseries had more time to develop the story and characters, this movie does an excellent job of doing the same in a shorter span of time.
The movie hovers around the goings on of The Circus, the codename for British Intelligence. After one operation goes wrong and an agent is killed, the head of intelligence named Control (John Hurt) is forced to resign along with his right-hand man Smiley. Smiley however is brought back into service when it becomes apparent that there is a mole in British Intelligence. Not just that, it’s a mole that has been there for a long time and is a senior member with access to all sorts of secret information. Smiley, in his own way, seeks out the mole before the British become completely compromised in world affairs, and what results is a game of chess more than a battle of wits.
Casting Oldman in the role of George Smiley at first seems like a surprising choice. At the same time this movie was released, Alex Cox’s “Sid & Nancy” (in which he made his film debut) came out on Blu-ray. That film reminds us of how over the top Oldman can be in his roles and how we look forward to him playing the heavy in movies like “The Professional” and “Air Force One.” We revel in his emotionally unhinged performances which have made him stand out prominently among other actors of his ilk.
As Smiley though, Oldman is forced to dial back on that manic energy he became famous for. George Smiley is a character who never loses his cool and conveys so much even through the simplest of gestures. With even an ever so slight movement, we can see Smiley’s thought process at work and are never in doubt of how powerful a character he is.
In recent years, Oldman has gotten to stretch a bit with roles like Sirius Black in the “Harry Potter” movie franchise. While Black is first seen as a bad guy, it turns out he is a good one who cares nothing more than Harry’s well-being. Then there is his role as James Gordon in Christopher Nolan’s “Batman” movies where he makes the good guy seem very cool without being such a square. What makes George Smiley an especially interesting character is that he is neither a good or bad guy but someone who is forced to navigate the dirty waters which he cannot help but get submerged in from time to time.
This is one of those roles which drive most actors crazy because it is all too easy to become utterly self-conscious about what you’re doing. Being an actor myself, I often wonder if I am doing enough or perhaps too much in one performance to the next. While acting on the stage makes this easier to answer, acting in a movie or television is not only different but far more intimate. In the latter, you have to be more natural without appearing wooden or lifeless which can be difficult to say the least. But it’s those subtleties which can provide amazing results with the right director watching over you.
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” is also has a cast of brilliant British actors who are here because they didn’t get a part in any of the “Harry Potter” films or are taking a break from them. Actors like John Hurt, Colin Firth, and Toby Jones do their expected best in playing characters that have long since become morally compromised. You also have Tom Hardy, who we will soon see as Bane in “The Dark Knight Rises,” as a British agent who is only beginning to become morally compromised. None of them are easy to decipher at the surface, and a lot of that is thanks to their excellent performances.
Directing this adaptation is Tomas Alfredson who directed one of the best movies from a few years ago: “Let The Right One In.” He handles the intricacies of a story that could easily become convoluted in terrific fashion and keeps us enthralled throughout. Even if we can’t follow the story, Alfredson succeeds in keeping us on the edge of our seat all the way to the end. Furthermore, he generates an intense and exciting climax without the use of gunplay or explosions, and there is something to be said for that.
Describing all that goes on in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” is not easy, but I don’t think it’s an impossible story to follow. Watching this movie for a second time will help you a chance to examine the subplots more closely. While the spy world of Carré may seem nowhere as exciting James Bond’s, it deals with the real world more directly as the line between right and wrong is forever blurred. What’s fascinating is how these people survive in it even though they continue losing pieces of themselves the longer they live.
One thing is certain though; it is long past time for Gary Oldman to get an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. It’s shocking to realize that to date he has never gotten one after so many great performances. That Steve James’ documentary “The Interrupters” got passed over for a possible nomination is bad enough, but ignoring Oldman will be like putting salt on a wound!
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With so much information being thrown at us, I wish that there was much more time for all of it to just sink in but I liked the fact that the film made you pay attention to every little detail as this story just kept building and building. Everybody here in this cast is great too, especially Oldman who perfectly brings this flick together. Good review. Check out mine when you get the chance.