TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

Gary Oldman is George Smiley, the ultimate spy, a man who is seemingly devoid of emotion.  There are a few glimmers of personality to be sure.  But the man is a cipher, never betraying his thoughts or feelings to anyone around him.  His colleagues all fall prey to their emotions.  Every other character lets their heart make decisions where their brain should, especially considering they work in Cold War era espionage.  The other characters fall in love when they shouldn't, and sleep with their co-workers, coworkers spouses, enemies, and enemies' spouses.  They hold on to petty personal grudges and grievances, and let them cloud their judgement and their conduct.  And as for the mole...  his motivations are ambiguous but certainly not rational.  These characters make the critical mistake that Martin Sheen advised against in The Departed: "We practice deception, but not self-deception."

If you want realism in your spy picture, this is it.  You might choke on those bitter herbs however.  John le Carre worked for British Intelligence (MI6) for years, and his novel (and it's earlier TV adaptation with Alec Guinness) is filled with all manner of details and lingo that seem baffling at first, but are fairly easy to pick up through context.  After you hear the characters refer to 'The Circus' enough times you'll figure out that they're talking about MI6.  But other important details are only mentioned (or clarified) once so this isn't the sort of movie that you can check out mentally from.  Despite having no car chases, punch and kick fights, or furious gun battles, this is a breathlessly paced movie.  The 70's TV adaption was 6 or 7 hours (UK vs International Cut) which meant they had PLENTY of room for all the ancillary details and characters.  This version has to accomplish much of the same goals but with about 1/3 the running time.

The cast is an astonishing collection of talent.  Benedict Cumberbatch, the current TV Sherlock Holmes, plays a liaison to Oldman during the mole hunt.  Stephen Graham, dropping his Al Capone accent from Boardwalk Empire and returning to his native accent, has a small but crucial role.  John Hurt runs the Circus until Toby Jones forces him out, putting his people at the top, including Colin Firth, the King who won an Oscar, and Cirian Hinds, who worked with Danial Plainview and lived to tell about it, and David Dencik, who sure knows how to wear an ascot or bowtie.

Realism is ugly.  People are fat, bald and/or old.  Nobody has conversations where they carefully, audibly confirm important information that they are already aware of.  Most of the film takes place in London in the 1970's, which actually manages to look more dirty and depressing than Communist Hungary, where a few scenes takes place.  The wardrobes are the finest collection of beiges, grays, and blahs ever collected on film.  The only thing sexy about this film is how damn good it is.  If you want a spy movie about spying and not punching and kicking, then you are in luck.

I am your God now.

~ I bet David Dencik did not enjoy the trailer showing a shot of him with the voice over line "become so very ugly" especially since that line has nothing to do with his character in the film.

~ You might think this movie is glacially paced, but in the original British series, most of the first episode is Alec Guinness having dinner with an old friend that he doesn't like.

~ PSUEDO-SPOILER: Are any of the suspects played by considerably more high profile actors than the others?

~ The music is generally subdued, but there is a nice eerie French cover of Beyond The Sea played near the end.  Then again, I always think that song is creepy because I first heard it in The X-Files episode of the same name.  Brad Dourif you creepy sonofabitch, leave Scully alone damnit!

~ There is a quick scene with a chintzy CGI animal, just like Tomas Alfredson's last movie Let The Right One In.  Small complaint for two completely different fantastic films.

~ John Hurt is a drunken delight as the wonderfully named Control.