“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” available on Blu-ray Combo pack with Ultraviolet, DVD and On-Demand 3/20.
Dense and intriguing, “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” demands your utmost concentration. Now that you have the luxury of watching this excellent spy thriller at home I suggest you turn off your cell phones, turn on the subtitles and give the film your undivided attention. If you still have trouble comprehending then perhaps you can try reading the classic novel by John le Carre of which the film was based. Read it out loud; slowly and in the mirror and then maybe you can decipher what actually happens. If that doesn’t work, then forget it. It wasn’t meant to be.
Judging from the wigs and earthen tones of the furniture and clothes, “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” takes place in the early 70’s. It is the peak of the Cold War and it seems that a Russian mole has infiltrated the top tier of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service, a.k.a. M16 and code-named the Circus. The recently ousted George Smiley (Gary Oldman), who was a top lieutenant at the Circus before he was forced to leave to make room for the new regime, is secretly tapped to expose the mole and restore order.
The suspects are quickly narrowed to five men, of which Smiley himself is a suspect. What unfolds is an intricately woven international spy game that will keep you guessing to the final frame.
Gary Oldman was, of course, nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor and his work here is very strong, grounding the film with a near blank expression. Known for huge, over-the-top performances Oldman reveals a subtle side to his acting and tells much of Smiley’s story with his eyes and small gestures. Fantastic work. And the fact that the character’s name is Smiley and the man never cracks even the slightest grin during the film’s 2 plus hour is a perfect little quirk.
An extraordinary supporting cast that reads as a “best of” list of contemporary British actors surrounds Oldman. Colin Firth (“The King’s Speech’) and Toby Jones (“The Hunger Games”) play integral roles and it is refreshing to see Mark Strong (“Sherlock Holmes”) play a part that does call for him to be the villain. Tom Hardy (“Inception”) pops up proving that the young actor is in every important movie nowadays. The women don’t get much to do, unfortunately. I guess this sort of thing was left the boys back in the day.
Thanks to director Tomas Alfredson (“Let the Right One In) “TTSS” looks like a movie plucked directly from the 70’s and shares a visual aesthetic with the other adaptation of the novel, the 1979 mini-series that starred Sir Alec Guinness in role of Smiley. The pacing is amazing and the telling of this complicated story is handled amazingly well. I’m not really kidding about the subtitles though. In an entertainment world that usually force-feeds us a steady diet of “Transformers” sequels and Adam Sandler movies, “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” is a much-needed challenge. It may seem foreign and strange to have to use your brain while watching this film but stick with it. It is more than worth it.
Blu-ray Special Features:
Feature Commentary with director Tomas Alfredson and actor Gary Oldman
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy: First Look
Interviews with the cast and and author John le Carré
My Scenes
pocket BLU App
Digital Copy
UltraViolet