I really liked it. It's a much better movie than Eastwood's J.Edgar (especially for the use of non-linear narrative and flashbacks!) that I saw two weeks ago, or than The Descendants. And damnit, yes Gary Oldman deserves an oscar!
It's good to see him as the lead in a good movie. It felt like ages since he had a good part in a decent film. He was excellent here, but all the cast was good, especially Benedict Cumberbatch (who, by the way, looks much better as Sherlock than he did with that blond hair!). Apart from the "stars" (Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, John Hurt), the film was filled with familiar faces from tv series (like Ceasar from Rome, or Edith from Downton Abbey!), and everybody was pretty much perfect. Gary delivered a fine, restrained and subtle performance, based on his commanding presence, and all the other actors seemed to tune in according to his acting.
I hadn't read John Le Carré's book so Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy was all about cinematography and acting for me. There's some suspense but it isn't a thriller and Smiley's inquiry --or the reveal about the mole (which wasn't so difficult to figure out given the cast...)-- isn't what makes the film so good. The plot isn't that complex, the film is not hard too understand -- although some people seemed to think so -- but the writing is clever.
It is, mostly, an atmosphere movie about the Bristish Spy World in the early 70's(MI-6 here, is nicknamed The Circus), with good writing, great direction and original shots. I often marvelled at the tracking shots and the frames. I loved the chess metaphor that is the spinal column of the film; I loved that Karla remained an invisible foe since the film was about the "enemy within", the mistrust and betrayals between the agents of the secret service; and I loved that Ann Smiley turned out to be a bit like Columbo's wife!
I loved the design of the set, the costumes and the props too: the control room that looked soundproof (or was it just 70's orange wallpaper?)to prevent leaks; Goerge Smiley's huge glasses that allowed him to watch everybody's moves (and concealed Gary's beautiful blue eyes), espcially since a "circus" is basically a spectacle. I loved the swimming scenes that suggested the "swimming with sharks" expression. Unless it was also a way to show that after a life of working in muddy waters, Smiley needed to cleanse himself?
I loved the other big metaphor, perhaps less obvious than the chess one, the film plays on: the teaching metaphor. It worked on several levels. We've got the mentor-ward duo that George Smiley (Oldman) and Peter Guillam (benedict Cumberbatch) embodie, and through the course of the film Peter learns a hard lesson but it is kinda rewarding in his line of work; and as an echo we've got Peter's partner who is obviously a teacher (we see him marking papers!). But there's also a counterpoint to those relationships with Jim Prideaux's new job, as a teacher, after the Hungarian mess, and the new boy he takes under his wing...He literaly went from Spooks to school!
And there's the film itself teaching the audience a lesson, asking the viewers to pay attention, to be patient...to follow along, like the boys chasing a car.
I have to confess that I also loved that Smiley's former co-worker, Sachs, used the word "under-fucked". It sounds much more accurate than our French expression "mal baisée"!
Above all, I loved how the Circus world was so grey, full of shabby places and civil servants that were everything but glamorous or charistmatic. We were light-years away from Bond movies(in spite of some sex here and there). Don't expect to find some sexy spy in there! And there was little action too, and when it happened (at the beginning mostly) it looked clumsy.
There was violence, for sure, but it was mostly a world of protocols and hierarchy, a world of mere apparachiks, with the highest-ranked ones thinking they were kings and sending pawns like Ricky Tarr (and, to a certain extent, Jim Prideaux) to do the dirty work. But they are just civil servants, playing with the lifes of the others; British men who grew up in those famous Public Schools , work in offices, have affairs and have Christmas parties...
Early on in the movie, we are told that there's "a mole" at the top of the British Intelligence, and the more we see those secret service the more it's obvious that there's indeed something rotten, poisonous, in the Circus world, as if they were all, already, cold spectres. Through its visuals, the actors' performance, and the ambiance they created, the film conveyed very well the mix of spy machinery, lethal skills (Jim and the owl !!!!) , a certain sloppiness -- and the mess that ensues--, and a general state of decay.
The chess pieces move on the checkboards, the main ones deluding themselves into believing they are more than pawns that can be dispatched, disposed and replaced. And this is where the two metaphors merge, for all the pieces will have to face the truth and learn the lesson. Smiley learned it first...
The film is cold and sometimes it feels devoid of human feelings, especially when it comes to the older characters(Peter or Ricky are still "tender meat", young enough to look fresh and human),yet all of those master spies, at some point, became more than their function, lost their self-control and showed some emotion(either when losing their position like a defeated Percy in the rain, or when having their heart broken...).
Gary Oldman who was very quiet (silent even at the beginning of the film) was a bit like a mummy, wrapped in his beige raincoat, or the avenging ghost coming back to sort things out, to put the Circus to rights, and he slowly came back to life while doing so.
Of course he also turned out to be the best chess player of the game. The scene in which he corners Toby Esterhase and have him yield and beg is very significant. And of course the final chekmate scene is highly ironical given the actor who plays the fallen king and a previous role he played not so long ago...
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is the kind of spy movies that I like, gripping and focusing on the Intelligence work rather than on showy action scenes, so obviously the anti-Bourne kind...
I recommend it, but it is not pop-corn movie, people!
