TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

Tomas Alfredson is the latest European director to make an English-language debut. Following his success with Let the Right One In, Alfredson has taken the classic spy thriller by John le Carré and put together one of the finest British casts ever assembled outside of Harry Potter. The result is a stunning and suspensful drama set in the 1970s at the top of British Intelligence.

Gary Oldman is George Smiley, the aging spy who was forced into retirement alongside his boss, played by John Hurt, following a botched operation in Budapest. When rogue agent Ricky Tarr (Tom Hardy) appears to have information about a mole at the top of the organization George Smiley is brought back to find the leak.

The script is a tight adaptation of the original book, and it will be the one to beat at this year’s Oscars. The shuffled timeline and regular flashbacks are all easily understood despite the lack of on-screen text to state the time and place. The 1979 adaptation of the novel was a television mini-series, so it was not restrained by a two-hour running time. Yet this version leaves out very little and is generally a far more effective thriller.

It is impossible to consider any element of the film being more important to its success than its cast. Gary Oldman is the center of the film, but Benedict Cumberbatch also shines as Smiley’s second-in-command. In this world of secrets and polite society the smallest gestures become important, and moments of insight are handled with a sure directorial hand by Alfredson who holds on a close-up or sustains a scene of emotional distress for just the right length of time.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy has been nominated for three Academy Awards this year. As well as the screenplay it is nominated for Alberto Iglesias’ musical score, which is an exceptionally important part of the tension and mystery. The third is Gary Oldman for Best Actor. Oldman has never been nominated before despite numerous great performances since he came into the spotlight in the early 90s. If he manages to beat Jean Dujardin (The Artist) it will be the result of an Oscar-worthy performance by an actor who is long-overdue for a win.