In nineteen seventy-three the cold war was very much alive when Control, the head of the highest echelons of British Intelligence, The Circus, sends one of his best agents to meet with a Hungarian general who wishes to defect. When the operation goes disastrously wrong both Control and George Smiley are forced out and Percy Alleline takes control of The Circus on the back of his new operation which is providing high level Soviet intelligence. A year later, Control is dead and Smiley is approached to discover the Soviet mole in The Circus and the real reason the Hungarian operation went wrong...

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011 - 2 hrs, 2 min, 10 sec) is an old style spy thriller directed by Tomas Alfredson. The famous novel, written by John le Carré, was adapted for the screen by Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan.

Given the book's original length and labyrinthine plot, it was a brave choice of book to adapt. Even the BBC’s own adaptation, starring Alec Guinness, only managed to condense it down to a seven episode series.

For those unaware of the story, in any of its formats, this is at heart a puzzle solving exercise, therefore anyone expecting pulse pounding action is going to be disappointed. What you will find is a well scripted and superbly acted adult take on the spy thriller, which lacks sexy gadgets but has a surfeit of double dealing and paranoia.

Taking the central role of Smiley is Gary Oldman, who provides a sustained level of tension which drives the film forward, even dropping in the occasional acting nod to Alec Guinness in some of his mannerisms.

Oldman, however, is backed by some of the best male character actors, including Colin Firth (Bill Haydon), Tom Hardy (Ricki Tarr), Mark Strong (Jim Prideaux), Ciarán Hinds (Roy Bland), Benedict Cumberbatch (Peter Guillam), David Dencik (Toby Esterhase), Stephen Graham (Jerry Westerby), Simon McBurney (Oliver Lacon), Toby Jones (Percy Alleline), John Hurt (Control) and Kathy Burke (Connie Sachs).

So, an impressive cast, a complicated story, which is mainly told in flashbacks, but the film is not without its faults. Primary, is the problem that the book has been so condensed that if your mind wanders for five minutes you’re going to be very lost extremely quickly.

This state of affairs is not helped by the over generous use of flashbacks, which itself would not have been a problem had the film been dealing with events five to ten years ago, makeup could have differentiated the two time frames with ease.

In Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy events are only separated by a year to eighteen months, so the principle actors look identical. There were a few occasions, when presented with a flashback, that it took some time before I realised that we were no longer watching current events, which just added to the confusion.

The film looks drab which, as it's set in the mid-seventies, is a fitting colour palette. England was a drab place, moving through a decade which taste and fashion forgot. This also reinforces the idea that intelligence work has more to do with grubby men with their grubby little secrets. Spying, presented as long periods of boredom, with rare instances of terrifying fear, when someone is trying to kill you.

The film is presented in a two disc DVD set. The first disc contains the film as well as a couple of extras. John le Carré interview (29 min, 44 sec), although it’s well worth a look to hear the author talk about the genesis of Smiley, which sprang from his own work in the intelligence community, its rather annoying that they apparently could only afford one microphone, so the interviewer is always half heard compared to le Carré. There are also a couple of deleted scenes (5 min, 43 sec). The film also has a full length commentary from director, Tomas Alfredson and Gary Oldman.

Disc two is where the meat of the extras resides. Presented in their own subsets, the featurettes start with Smiley (2 min, 24 sec) with contributions from the actors talking about the difference, in presentation, between this film and other spy films, with emphasis on the main character. Inside the Circus (2 min, 09 sec), this explains the meaning of the name. Shadow World (2 min, 14 sec) looks at the themes behind the film and John le Carré (2 min, 20 sec) is a homage to the author.

There are interviews with Gary Oldman (7 min, 35 sec), Colin Firth (6 min, 28 sec), Tom Hardy (3 min, 22 sec), director Tomas Alfredson and writer Peter Straughan (6 min, 56 sec). Each talks about their previous relationship to the book and how they approached the film. UK Premier (4 min, 47 sec) is a condensed version of the films premier and a Sky Movies Special (20 min, 30 sec) which covers much of the same material as the previous featurettes and interviews, interspersed with scenes from the film.

The disc also contains a photo gallery and the first chapter from the audio books of Smiley’s People and The Honourable Schoolboy. The full and teaser trailer wrap up the disc.

The film is presented with audio options for either 2.0 stereo or a 5.1 track, either of which are serviceable.

With the required amount of concentration, or failing that, having watched most of the extras first, the film is a rich and rewarding experience.

8

Charles Packer