Fresh Reviews: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Rated R for mostly for violence. There is also some strong language and sexual situations (including brief nudity) but it's so brief, non-graphic and at a distance that I'd guess it wouldn't be more than PG-13 on its own. It's the violence, folks.

* * * * * * * * * *

John Lecarre is rightfully known as the master of the spy novel, and in particular his George Smiley books are known for their insight into the world of what espionage is REALLY like... not the James Bond glamor, but the dirty tricks and underhanded dealings that even the supposed "good guys" will often be involved with to gain their own ends. But "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" has already been done as a BBC miniseries (broadcast later on PBS) that is acknowledged as a masterwork? What would be the purpose of re-doing it as a two hour (and seven minute) film? Well, aside from the fact that hardly any of the younger moviegoing audiences have seen that version, and not a lot of people have the time these days to sit down to watch about eight hours of story? Let's find out.

The story involves George Smiley, a veteran member of the British intelligence service who is being "retired" from the service officially. That makes him the perfect person to take on the assignment of trying to find the mole that the agency is convinced is working within their ranks, endangering their plans and bringing secret information to "the other side". But as he proceeds, we begin to suspect that there isn't much difference morally between the good guys and the bad guys and that even if the mole is found, it might not exactly make the free world any safer.

Obviously, an 8-hour mini-series is going to have plenty of room to get all the details of the original novel, so there is no argument that the BBC version (featuring Alec Guiness as Smiley) is a more accurate adaptation of the source material. But this new version (which I don't think can be counted as a remake any more than the Coen Brothers' version of "True grit" was, but rather another interpretation of the same source material) does have some advantages. Granted, you do have to pay careful attention (but why is that necessarily a problem? Shouldn't you be doing that anyhow?), but all the explanation you need IS there... director Tomas Alfredson (of the original Swedish "Girl With The Dragon Tattoo") has done a very efficient and effective job of boiling down a lengthy novel into a tense, coherent film. And the fact that it's all taking place now over the course of 127 minutes, I think, ramps up the suspense... there's a new twist and turn to the story every few minutes, it seems, and you never know what's going to happen from one minute to the next. In an espionage story, I call that a plus.

Alfredson and crew have also captured Lecarre's cynical attitude toward the spy game expertly: it's really easy to get tired of spy stories along the lines of Bond and "Mission: Impossible", with stunt performers doing the real work and filled with explosions and car crashes. Lecarre reminds you of what espionage is really like most of the time: the dark underside of virtually all governments, as they use noble rhetoric to disguise the murderous deeds they do to allegedly keep the world free. Not all of the good guys are very admirable in this story, and not all of the bad ones exactly lack admirable qualities... they can often even evoke your pity and sympathy. There is a marvelous literary quality to this film that makes it almost like "watching a book"... and in case you're wondering, that's something that I think would make a lot of movies better if it became more common. (Something Alfredson, of course, has achieved before.)

I was a little put off at first by Oldman's speech patterns as Smiley... he seems to be doing a deliberate imitation of Alec Guiness, who played the role in the BBC version. I'm still not sure why he took this approach, but he definitely manages to make the character his own nonetheless. This Smiley is a man you think you know from the start, but who keeps revealing hidden sides to himself and not leaving you quite sure how to feel about him until the very last shot of the film... and maybe not even then. Equally fine work is done by Colin Firth and John Hurt as colleagues of Smiley's... Firth in particular really grabbed my attention, especially as his seemingly small role became more important later in the film. His is a truly tragic character who makes the viewer really question the very nature of what is right and what is wrong.

"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" the movie is, certainly, a complex story, but a clearly understandable one. It's about as accurate a film translation of Lecarre's story as could be possible into a single film. The original is still available on various forms of video and is certainly worth a look if you haven't seen it, particularly if you want to compare. But this movie is an admirable achievement in its own right, the kind of spy movie they truly don't make any more (and haven't since about the 1970's), a story that gives us two hours of solid thrills and suspense for those who want that, and a lot to think about regarding how the governments of the world run that world as a bonus. I suspect that in a moviegoing environment like today's it probably isn't going to be a blockbuster hit, but I do hope that a lot of people will get to see it. I have nothing against fluff movies, but film can be much more, and this is a good example.