Movie Review: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

            Due to the fact that I have lost my handy-dandy notepad, I will try and recall the notes I’ve written about this movie.

John LeCarre's work needs...work

            One thing I do remember very well is the fact that I was excited about seeing this movie. John LeCarré’s spy thriller was said to have redefined the genre. Such a critical acclaim for a novel made me realize that the movie was one of two things: 1) total crap, or 2) a diamond. Well…I’m not sure what I would call this. The other thing I clearly remember is walking out of theater 8 with the thought of “What just happened?”

            To start, the mole discovery was foreseen and disappointing. I want hints that leave me watering at the mouth to figure it out, pulling my hair every time I figure out I’m wrong until WHAM! It’s revealed, and I shout, “MAN! I should have seen it COMING!!!” But…nope. Not with Tinker Tailor.

            The jargon had to be figured out as you went along, and if not familiar with the lingo, you had no idea what they were talking about. It’s like never hearing a Mainer say “Wicked freezin’ out theyah, ayup. Right slick, too,” and having to piece together the lingo as you live there in Maine (believe me, if you don’t grow up here, you will not have an easy time listening to some people talk). So in light of the jargon problem, the plot had to be figured out the same way. Holes were left unfilled and you had to dig for reasons for why some things happened. Which is never a good quality in a movie.

George Smiley on the release poster

            I’m not saying it was bad. The characters were connectable (although I highly disapprove of the sex scene in it, which I walked out on to return when it was over), but I found myself hating a lot of them. And maybe that was the point. I loved George Smiley (Gary Oldman), but the rest of them seemed…hateable. Not very nice, and melancholy altogether. Granted, the whole thing was a melancholy affair, and I understand that the Cold War was a drab and strained era, but sheesh. Where’s the hope?

            I had a hope. I hoped this movie would be thrilling like the genre suggested (spy thriller). However, the outturn was a lot of wasted time. One scene in the library of files, with Peter Guillam (Benedict Cumberbatch) trying to sneak out a top-secret file past his superiors, made me hold my breath, I will admit. However, the rest of the movie fell flat when it comes to the thrilling aspect. Even inside espionage can be thrilling if written right. So I don’t think that reflects on the filmmakers as much as it does on the novelist who conceived the story in the first place. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy gets 2 kernels out of 5.