Review - Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy

London, 1970s. An undercover operation in Budapest goes disastrously wrong, forcing M16 chief Control (John Hurt) and his trusted intelligence officer George Smiley (Gary Oldman) to leave the secret service. But there’s a catch: reckless field agent Ricki Tarr (Tom Hardy) believes a Soviet double agent has managed to successfully infiltrate “the circus”. With the integrity of British intelligence at stake, Smiley is forced out of retirement to uncover the mole, unbeknownst to his former colleagues.

Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy, adapted from John Le Carré’s acclaimed novel, is not an easy watch. It is a film thick on plot, crowded with shadowy spooks and full of spy jargon so obscure, you’d need the right Wikipedia page at hand to figure out what the hell everyone is on about. Plus the title sounds like the opening verse to a nursery rhyme.  So anyone expecting a spy film with explosions and moustache-twirling villains is going to be sorely disappointed.

But if you get past the fact that these spies don’t drive high-tech Aston Martins to work (or dispatch their enemies with a rolled-up magazine, for that matter), you may just appreciate TTSS for what it really is: an espionage thriller that places emphasis on mood, character and a sense of paranoia that is strongly augmented by the Cold War setting.

In the hands of Thomas Alfredson, whose cold photography from Let The Right One In is perfectly suited to the wet lackluster streets of 70s London, a prolonged silence or an inquisitive glance between two inscrutable characters is far more gripping than your traditional Hollywood shoot-out.  Imagine Munich without the action scenes and you’ll get an idea of what you’re looking at. And except that it’s, you know, British.

Speaking of which, screenwriters Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan make the wise decision to sprinkle the slow pace with some very welcome dry wit, the stiff-upper lip kind that only true Brits can really pull off (“I’d like to talk to you about loyalty” deadpans Smiley as he begins to lecture a quivering suspect on treason).

In a film that invests so much in character, a big chunk of its credibility rests on the performances. Fortunately TTSS’s cast reads like a who’s who of today’s best talent in British cinema. Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Ciaran Hinds, Toby Jones and John Hurt are all exceptionally well cast in their pompous, uptight roles and led by a mesmerising Gary Oldman, who gives a performance so subtle and restrained, you’d never guess he once played Sid Vicious. But special mention should also go to emerging stars Tom Hardy and Benedict Cumberbatch, who excel as MI6’s younger, brasher operatives.

Tinker Taylor Solider Spy is guaranteed to divide audiences. Some will be put off by its complexity and accuse it of being self-indulgent or just plain boring. Others will love it for its old school sensibilities. But there will be also a third group. These are the viewers who might not understand the film first time round, but will be inexorably drawn to this fascinating world of Cold War espionage and will want to revisit it, so that they can fully appreciate just what an enthralling piece of cinema TTSS actually is.

4/5