Tags
Benedict Cumberbatch., british film, cinema, Colin Firth, Film, Gary Oldman, John Hurt, Mark Strong, Movie, Review, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Toby Jones, Tom Hardy, UK, uk film
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a quality British film.
British cinema has been thriving in recent years with a whole host of films which have been met by critical acclaim and financial success, mostly made on modest budgets. In the last three years alone, we’ve seen (in no particular order) the likes of The King’s Speech, 127 Hours, Four Lions, Another Year, Monsters, An Education, Never Let Me Go, Moon, Exit Though The Gift Shop, Hunger, and Slumdog Millionaire
In my opinion, 2011 has been even more special with Submarine and Attack The Block both in my top-five of the year (and very likely to stay there), two amazing documentaries in the shape of Senna and Life in a Day, Kill List providing original thrills and provocation, Jane Eyre doing period drama with a sense of 21st century style, and a massive hit coming from a British TV spinoff – The Inbetweeners Movie.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy adds to this amazing year by creating a spy tale that looks every bit as glamorous as the best Hollywood can come up with and has the patience and complexities of the best European cinema. Swedish director Tomas Alfredson leaves his mark, creating a world of espionage which couldn’t feel farther removed from James Bond yet is still just as thrilling.
The plot is somewhat too complex to summarise here, but lets just say that there’s a mole at the top of the secret services and it’s down to Gary Oldman to find him. There are twists and complications along the way, and a whole host of intriguing characters played by some of the UK’s finest actors – Oldman, John Hurt, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Toby Jones, Mark Strong and Benedict Cumberbatch.
It can suffer from a case of too much information at times as the novel’s dense plot is woven into a run time of just over two hours, and honestly, I think it would have worked better as a six-part series, leaving plot strands more time to develop and breathing space for the viewer to let it all sink in. To do that however would have meant a lesser cast, a lesser director and altogether less style. And it’s the style that is really impressive here
As with the kitsch 1970s Swedish decor in Let The Right One In, Alfredson gets the surroundings – here London, sometime in the 60s or early 70s – spot on. Period details are charming and alluring, the haircuts are bad in all the right ways, and the costumes suave and sophisticated. Hoyte Van Hoytema picks up the cinematography duties just as he did on Let The Right One In, combining some fantastic lighting (I never comment on lighting but seriously just see how the dusty interiors are lit with piercing light penetrating through partially open curtains) and beautiful framing (just think of that library shot covering all three floors which you’ve probably seen in the trailer). The stills from this film could easily be hung in a gallery. Alberto Iglesias also contributes an excellently subtle yet seductive score.
I have to say I got bogged down in the plot at times, and was occasionally perplexed – the mixed up time structure without clearly signifying what takes pace where and when doesn’t help with this – but it all comes together nicely in the end. And I mean nicely – I’m a sucker for a montage with an incongruously cheerful song which somehow, in its cheeriness, suggests nostalgia, melancholy and irony all at the same time.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a film I’m sure will improve with multiple viewings. For now it gets four stars – it’s full of style, great actors, and an emotional punch of a finale. The slight messiness of the plot though holds it back from being perfect, but I dare say that next time I watch it, the rating could go up.
[xrr rating=4/5]