Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Year Released: 2011

Runtime: 127 minutes

Directed: Tomas Alfredson

Produced: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Robyn Slovo, et al.

Starring: Gary Oldman, Kathy Burke, Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hardy, Mark Strong, John Hurt, Toby Jones

Oscars: Nominated: Best Actor (Oldman), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score

IMDb Plot Summary: In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley (Gary Oldman) is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet Agent within MI6.

Context, Context, Context: What Created Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and Why it’s Still Relevant

Modern approach, classic story. John Le Carré went from working at MI5 and MI6 in the 50’s and 60’s to writing spy and espionage novels, and his experience gave his novels palpable authenticity. He was forced out of the agency, however, in the aftermath the ousting and defections of the “Cambridge 5”: a group of real-life moles in MI6 who had been working with the USSR. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was written in 1974, featuring frequent protagonist George Smiley with the “Cambridge 5” (MI6 executives who were ousted for helping the Russians) were still fresh in the public’s memory. This was the height of the bleakness and paranoia of the Cold War, especially amongst the members of the intelligence community. The book also raises the questions of which side is right or wrong, and could it be neither? Who are these spies as people? What happens when personal interferes with professional? It’s Smiley’s job to find the mole, but at what cost? What happens when it’s someone he knows? The novel was adapted in 1979 starring Alec Guinness and was presented in miniseries format due to the dense amount of detail. For this film, screenwriters Peter Morgan, Peter Straughan, and Bridget O’Connor (who sadly lost her battle with breast cancer before the film was finished) dropped extensive character backstories and used frequent flashbacks to balance the dense plot and character development.

The legacy of TTSS. 2011 was a weird year for film; The Artist won 6 Oscars including Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Director. Other heavily nominated films include the overrated Hugo and War Horse, but a few underrated gems emerged in retrospect: Drive (1 nomination, 0 wins), Moneyball (6 nominations, 0 wins), and TTSS (3 nominations, 0 wins). While being properly recognized at the BAFTAs and a few other awards circuits (and dominating the British box office), this film just wasn’t popular enough with American audiences to mount an effective awards campaign. However, I think the reasons it didn’t take in America are the exact reasons why this film is so crucial for us. The film does exactly the opposite of what we’ve been conditioned to expect from our spy movies by limiting its action and keeping it realistic. This film is also not cheery, and we’re not exactly sure if we should be rooting for Smiley or not. The uncovering of Haydon as the mole doesn’t make us satisfied; it feels like one of our friends has betrayed us. The equating of the British agents to their Russian counterparts is difficult for audiences to swallow and challenges our notions of who to cheer for but is done so effectively here that it lingers in your mind long after.

The Story and its Characters

Human spies. By stripping away much of the lore and character backstory of Le Carré’s novel, the screenwriters created a perfectly paced film. Despite its rapidly-paced plot, the film also leaves time for the audience understand what it’s like to work at MI6; there’s office politics and climbers, romance and flirtation all while doing the most high-stakes work on the planet. I love the attention to dialogue, referring to the Intelligence Service as the “Circus”, field agents as “scalp-hunters”, and swapping captured agents as “exchanging stock”. This terminology was lifted straight from Le Carré’s novel and serves is flashy and cool while also doubling down on the everydayness of this to the employees of MI6, almost the entirety of this film’s cast. We spend the entire time on the inside of one of the most secret organizations on the planet in the bleakest time in their history – what a fantastic setting, and when the plot takes a brief backseat to allow the characters to breathe, it’s awesome. We explore these men’s loneliness, their sexualities, and their regrets. Smiley, Haydon, Tarr and Prideaux all discuss the nasty side of the spy business, torture, the morality of the Cold War and their exhaustion with it. My favorite aspect of the story is its use of flashbacks. They work very well to help us piece together the puzzle and keep us engaged when Smiley is interviewing different people, but they also give us excellent character development at the same time. In the first segment of Smiley’s investigation, he reminisces on Percy being berated by Control for Operation Witchcraft, and again at an office Christmas party we see many times. As different top members of the Circus are suspected, different portions of the Christmas party are seen, both furthering the development of Smiley and the character he is suspecting as well as creating the plot elements of why he is suspecting them.

The performances. This is an all-time ensemble cast of British actors, and they all deliver. Highlights include Tom Hardy demonstrating incredible range as Ricki Tarr playing a field agent in Istanbul, regretting how Istanbul turned out, and bashing the leadership of the Circus. Mark Strong is intensely emotional as Jim Prideaux, who gets shot in Budapest and is later revealed to still be alive, traumatized by the torture he endured. John Hurt is perfect as the paranoid, elderly Control who berates his staff and is ultimately forced into retirement after Prideaux’s capture. Kathy Burke is great as Connie Sachs, delivering both plot information and upping the emotional stakes by introducing how much worse the Cold War feels to fight than WW2. Benedict Cumberbatch gives a very nuanced turn as Smiley’s junior assistant Peter Guillam who is forced to hide his homosexuality. Gary Oldman absolutely kills it as George Smiley, who is the epitome of restraint for most of the film. He is a quiet investigator, who parses out small glimpses into his tortured soul through the looks on his face, or by delivering lines with his lips tightly drawn implying he wants to say more, but works in a job where he simply can’t. His take of an iconic character absolutely deserved the Best Actor nomination he was given. Colin Firth’s Bill Haydon, who is ultimately revealed to be the mole, steals the show. Throughout the film, he is the opposite of Smiley: younger, more conventionally attractive, funny, and feels like a “big brother” to Guillam (and us, by extension). When he’s exposed, the mystery is solved and the audience is satisfied, but we’re not happy. His post-capture interview is the best acting moment in the whole film, and rather than us viewing him as a dastardly villain and traitor, we view him through a tragic lens.

Technicalities

Bleak and dark. Director Tomas Alfredson has a penchant for creating exceptionally cold and bleak works of art – sometimes to his detriment but could not have been more of a perfect match here. Normally, I save my favorite technical aspect for the end, but this time I’m naming it upfront and will discuss how it’s built: the mood. The mood and tone match each other perfectly; the mood is dreary and bleak while the tone is disillusioned. Every single technical aspect of the film adds to this. It starts with the costumes – muted gray and brown suits, with the occasional colorful tie. The sets are largely gray and dull office spaces or brown/muted yellow hotel rooms, save a few locations including flashback locations and the Circus’ conference room. These locations are also where the film’s most intense violence occurs, helping to drive home the trauma that the person describing the memory has. The score is mostly subtle, capturing the feeling of isolation for Smiley as he investigates his former co-workers and friends. The camera captures the mood perfectly, using desaturated film stock that mutes even the color of skin and captures darkness brilliantly. It’s also filmed using a wide lens without too many close-ups; we feel like we’re the ones doing the spying. All these pieces create a uniquely dark and dour mood that stands apart from so much of what we see today – so very excellent, so very needed.

John’s Highlight Reel

· You weren’t followed? Opening the film in darkness sets the tone perfectly, and we’re also introduced to just how tight the editing is; Control hasn’t even finished ordering Prideaux to Budapest when we already see him there meeting his contact. The tension builds perfectly, as Prideaux scans the environment and the editing between the wide shots of him sitting at the table and the details he picks up is perfectly done. As the shots ring out, Prideaux is struck down and a young mother is killed with her crying baby in her arms. Welcome to the film’s world.

· Opening Credits. Control and Smiley are forced to retire after the Budapest operation fails, and as the opening credits role, they wordlessly walk all the way out of the office. We also see sensitive files put in a safe, and in the background of the scene we are introduced to the tedium of the MI6 office. Slow, moody, but with a wonderfully classic feel to it.

· First Flashback. While Guillam and Smiley visit Control’s old apartment, Smiley recalls the first time Percy Alleline brought reports from Operation Witchcraft to the Circus chiefs. Control is furious that Percy launched this program on his own and the younger chiefs support Percy. We realize that this is the moment that began the plot to force Control out, and where Control’s paranoia about the mole began due to his distrust of Witchcraft. Great moments for both character and plot development.

· Tarr’s Story. An exceptional performance from Tom Hardy, both in the flashback itself and in voiceover, encapsulates how this is both a suspenseful spy drama and a shockingly emotional movie. His Istanbul mission gone wrong highlights just how dark the world of spies can get, filled with some gruesome images of violence. My personal highlight: a wide shot of the top floor hotel suite that Hardy’s Tarr is watching, and through each of the windows from left to right we see Irina come home, move through the rooms to her cheating husband, and lock herself in the bathroom – all in one take from across the street. Phenomenal.

· The Lion’s Den. When Smiley sends Guillam into The Circus to find a logbook to verify Tarr’s story, the suspense is played brilliantly. Guillam uses clever tactics to steal the information he needs, but just when he’s about to get away with it (of course), he gets called in front of the senior board for an update on the supposedly defected Tarr. One of these men is the mole, and we’re brilliantly led to believe it’s either Esterhause or Alleline.

· Smiley recounts Karla. Until this point, two things have been true: Smiley is still a seemingly soulless man, and we’ve been obliquely made aware of Karla, the ultimate Russian nemesis who leads part of the KGB. With some subtle directing and terrific acting, Oldman’s Smiley recounts the time he once met Karla and tried to recruit him to defect to Britain. He delivers some of the film’s most profound lines, the camerawork brilliantly captures the dimly-lit room, and we go from knowing very little about Smiley to completely understanding who the man is and how he thinks through one perfectly-told story. The fact that Karla used this instance to identify Smiley’s blind spot (his wife) as part of the plot is incredible. Every piece matters.

· Prideaux’s Story. Earlier revealed to have survived the shooting in Budapest and now working at a prep school, Prideaux tells Smiley what happened. His story fills in vital pieces for the plot, but also brings us into the brutal world of torture and interrogation. It’s hard to call this a “highlight” since it’s a disturbing watch, but it’s exquisitely made and escalates the film into a higher level of dark drama. Irina’s death by brutal headshot is jarring, but fantastically well filmed.

· Smiley’s Plot. As the film races towards its climax, Smiley uses all the pieces of the mystery that he has learned: Tarr’s story, Prideaux’s story, and Operation Witchcraft’s source to catch the mole. There is no “ah-ha” moment of him deducing the mole’s identity, but instead he captures him offscreen in the London house. An all-time scene from this sequence is his intimidation of Esterhause: Smiley brings him to an airstrip with the camera placed far away using a wide lens; in the background, a plane lands and pulls closer and closer to our characters before stopping right behind them when Smiley threatens to deport Esterhause. Once the mole is captured, the reveal is satisfying yet sad; Haydon is a very likable character, but we’ve solved the mystery.

· Ending Montage. Over the course of the film, we saw different parts of a past office Christmas party, when everything was “good”. However, as the flashback progresses, each piece introduces us to the fact that the times were never good; Smiley discovered that Haydon was having an affair with his wife (as part of Karla’s plot), and Prideaux is implied to be jealous about this. The tender glances between the two immediately cut to Prideaux killing Haydon while he is kept in captivity, followed by Smiley assuming command of The Circus. The music playing in the background is the cheery French song “Le Mer”, but the images range from depressing, to violent, to satisfying, to isolated and lonely. A perfect ending to a film full of those same themes.

Came for _____, Stayed for ______

The mole’s identity. What else would I be concerned with for a spy mystery/thriller? The very first scene of Prideaux receiving the Budapest mission, only for that to be a set-up where he’s shot, starts us down a path of mystery. The plot is built around Smiley investigating the different pieces of how the mole operates, which Russian official oversees him, Ricki Tarr also learning that there is a mole, and the mole’s hijacking of Operation Witchcraft. It is full of all the right mystery materials including red herrings and several smaller revelations along the way and is excellently paced and suspenseful.

The whole Circus. The reason I return to the film, knowing the identity of the mole, is not to relive the suspense (although it is excellently manufactured), but to re-enter the dark and depressing world the spies inhabit. Their personal lives and professional lives are fascinating, and often intersect to sad results. These are professional spies, sure, but they are also very lonely and flawed humans. Their humanity and the cost of the profession that they have chosen is captured brilliantly, and perfectly balanced with the mystery-driven plot. In fact, it is that very flawed and emotional humanity that caused this whole mystery to begin with, so the film emerges as one of the most uniquely well-rounded I’ve ever seen and leaves a lasting impression. Mature, dark, sad, suspenseful, thoughtful, and so very necessary in today’s movie environment.