Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)

In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet Agent within MI6.

Director:

Tomas Alfredson

Writers:

Bridget O'Connor (screenplay), Peter Straughan (screenplay)

Stars:

Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 35 wins & 93 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mark Strong	...	Jim Prideaux
John Hurt	...	Control
Zoltán Mucsi	...	Magyar
Péter Kálloy Molnár	...	Hungarian Waiter
Ilona Kassai	...	Woman in Window
Imre Csuja	...	KGB Agent
Gary Oldman	...	George Smiley
Toby Jones	...	Percy Alleline
David Dencik	...	Toby Esterhase
Ciarán Hinds	...	Roy Bland
Colin Firth	...	Bill Haydon
Kathy Burke	...	Connie Sachs
Benedict Cumberbatch	...	Peter Guillam
Stephen Graham	...	Jerry Westerby
Arthur Nightingale	...	Bryant

Storyline

In the early 1970s during the Cold War, the head of British Intelligence, Control, resigns after an operation in Budapest, Hungary goes badly wrong. It transpires that Control believed one of four senior figures in the service was in fact a Russian agent - a mole - and the Hungary operation was an attempt to identify which of them it was. Smiley had been forced into retirement by the departure of Control, but is asked by a senior government figure to investigate a story told to him by a rogue agent, Ricky Tarr, that there was a mole. Smiley considers that the failure of the Hungary operation and the continuing success of Operation Witchcraft (an apparent source of significant Soviet intelligence) confirms this, and takes up the task of finding him.

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Plot Keywords:

spy | cold war | mole | woman on top | intelligence | 

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Taglines:

Trust no one. Suspect everyone.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, some sexuality/nudity and language

Details

Official Sites:

Focus Features Official site

Country:

France UK Germany

Language:

English Russian Hungarian French Turkish

Release Date:

6 January 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Filming Locations:

Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£2,814,860 (United Kingdom), 18 September 2011, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$310,562, 11 December 2011, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$24,149,393, 22 March 2012

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$80,630,608, 22 March 2012

Company Credits

Production Co:

StudioCanal, Karla Films, Paradis Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First theatrical adaptation of a previously televised John le Carré story. During the 1970s, there were two versions of the same le Carré made-for-television, they being Endstation (1973) and Armchair Theatre: The End of the Line (1970).

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Goofs

Though David Dencik lets his native Swedish accent slip when Toby Esterhase says the name "Polyakov" - he says "Poliakoff" - during his confrontation with Smiley, it's not considered as an error since Esterhase isn't a native British. As established earlier in the film, he was rescued by Control in some other European nation (the quote in fact was "I should have left you where I find you") and Toby probably wasn't able to fully master the English language with fluency.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Control: [opening door] You weren't followed?
Jim Prideaux: No.
Control: Better come in.

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the closing credits, there is a mention of Karla Films. This is a homage to George Smiley's nemesis.

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Connections

Referenced in My Weekly Bond: Top 5 Diminishing Returns Podcast Bond Moments (2017)

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Soundtracks

Spinning Wheel
Written by David Clayton-Thomas
Performed by Sammy Davis Jr.

User Reviews

A Genuine Achievement

Boldly announcing himself upon the stage of international cinema with 2009's Let the Right One In, the significant critical and commercial acclaim accorded director Thomas Alfredson clearly proved him a filmmaker capable of pulling off high quality adaptations of complex and dark literary sources.

Called back into service to uncover the identity of a Soviet mole at the height of the Cold War, retired British intelligence operative George Smiley is tasked with unwinding a vastly convoluted web of conspiracy, codenames, double agents, and deceit.

The movement from relatively low-budget foreign language filmmaking to helming star casts in comparably costly productions is one that, historically, holds significant risk for directorial careers. Add to the mix the danger of bringing a much-loved novel to life on screen, and Alfredson is certainly faced with a substantial task. An espionage thriller, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy—based on John le Carré's book—throws an extremely layered narrative at its audience and insists they keep up, making little in the way of allowance for those accustomed to excess plot exposition. Concerning an approximate dozen key characters—most of whom go by at least two names—the film contains a considerable quantity of raw information to be processed, particularly considering its reserved pace; the camera scrolls slowly across the screen in step with the story's measured progression, constantly moving along yet never losing the integral tension of its hastelessness. Alfredson and screenwriters Bridget O' Connor and Peter Straughan demonstrate a keenness for the more tensely-oriented end of the genre, delving into an atmosphere of unease rather than one of brisk spy action. There is almost an air of claustrophobia to much of the film, the caliginous cinematography and mysterious score combining to evoke an aura of noir paranoia. Much like Let the Right One In, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy boasts a thrilling visual panache; indeed, Hoyte van Hoytema's cinematography is oftentimes so remarkably involving that entire scenes may pass by without any absorption of the dialogical details disclosed therein—the brain is simply too overcome by the aesthetic bombardment of visual pleasure to decipher the explicit aural signals. One particular shot—an extreme close-up of Smiley's wearied face draped in shadow— affords the audience the time to study the furrowed ridges of his forehead and the weighted bags of his eyelids, giving us an entitled sense of knowledge of, and familiarity with, this character. It seems almost redundant to offer praise to the film's extraordinary cast; a brief glance at the list of exemplary names will disclose the sheer calibre of talent on display: a veritable dream team of the finest names of modern British cinema. From Firth to Hurt, Hardy to Cumberbatch, Oldman to Dencik, the phenomenal cast plays beautifully together, each actor inhabiting their character with award-courting flair. Where Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy really shines is in its characterisation—an all-too often underutilised aspect in this genre—each of them distinctly human rather than simply mouths through which the plot developments are channelled. Their primary concern may be with their espionage, but ours is with them: exploring their motivations; their private lives; their loyalties; and just how a career like theirs affects an existence. A recurring Christmas party scene revisited a number of times throughout the film reminds us regularly that these intelligence agents are not solely extensions of the government's facilities, but rather human beings with emotions, afflicted by the agonies of their toils, burying themselves in vodka-laced punch to just get away from it all.

Hitting all the right notes in its performances, script, and direction, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy triumphantly infuses a challengingly multifarious narrative with a deeper humanity, questioning by proxy the way in which devotion to duty affects all aspects of our lives. Shot with unforgettable effulgence—committing to memory eternal every last contour of Oldman's storied brow—it is a genuine achievement in cinematic storytelling.