Spy Classic 'Tinker Tailor' Tightens Traitor Investigation

Smiley (Gary Oldman) investigates the top men of British Intelligence in an updated Tinker Tailor.

An espionage film can be boiled down into two categories – either going the flashy route with an abundance of iconic characters, disposable gadgets and explosive action sequences like James Bond or Jason Bourne or conversely taking a more subtle, subdued path where the audience is required to be patient and come to an understanding that flashiness isn’t everything to craft a film. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is the latter, bringing together the most prominent actors in British cinema, many of which are having their own little Harry Potter reunion in this film. 

Tinker Tailor is adapted from the 1974 John le Carre novel by the same name about a seasoned agent (Gary Oldman) drawn out of retirement to investigate which one of British Intelligence’s top men are also working alongside the Soviets and blowing the cover of a fellow agent during a mission deep inside the Hungarian borders. Each of possible suspects is given a codename – “Tinker,” “Tailor,” “Soldier,” and “Poorman.”

Tomas Alfredson, director of 2009 film Let the Right One In, takes on this incredibly dense adaptation, a feat simply bound to be difficult from the get go. The last time Tinker Tailor, was adapted from it source material was a seven-part BBC miniseries in 1979. Tinker Tailor doesn’t have the luxury of audiences sitting at least four hours in the theater, cramming every important detail into a very tight two hour running time. 

Even with its abridged narrative, Tinker Tailor manages to hammer home the important points of the investigation, requiring the utmost attention from the audience where every line of dialogue and every scene is crucial to understanding what is transpiring deep in British Intelligence. Even after seeing the film an initial time, Tinker Tailor needs to be seen multiple times to absorb every piece of the puzzle. It’s not the fact that it’s confusing, but more so that so much is happening in so little time.

Tinker Tailor highlights the best actors of British cinema in one engaging package. With Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Ciaran Hinds, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch, John Hurt and Toby Jones all together on the same screen, Alfredson proudly displays the incredible chemistry amongst these prominent actors. Oldman comes off as an authentic seasoned retiree, whose character can only do so much without depending on his young inside man (Benedict Cumberbatch). 

Even the younger actors like Hardy and Cumberbatch hold their own against many of these veterans. Hardy has proven himself time and time again in 2011, but Cumberbatch is the ultimate scene-stealer besides Oldman and his performance here in Tinker Tailor lines him up for being a breakthrough actor in 2012. Strong, though giving another incredible performance, takes up an unfamiliar role, actually playing a character who isn’t a villain. Though he has shine on countless occasions as a villain, his attempt at distancing himself from what made him notable is a sight to watch for the little screen time he actually has.

Director Alfredson keeps audiences engaged with a consistent sense of paranoia of who among the most trusted people is in turn a mole. Even without any sort of action, the suspense is built through flashbacks and scenes where the eventual results could turn on a dime with eavesdropping or an unexpected door slam. 

Tinker Tailor stays true to its source material, focusing on the tension of the Cold War during the early 70s rather than caving in and bringing the story up to modern times. The authenticity of the time period and ongoing tensions develop a strong backbone for the narrative. This combined with the consistent bleak lighting that not everything is perfect in British Intelligence provide a more than satisfactory tone to reflect what is transpiring. Audiences might be frustrated by the inside jargon of British Intelligence. After hearing many of British Intelligence’s top men continuously used word such as “Circus” and “cousins” and “babysitters,” it might seem like those unfamiliar with these terms need to keep a scorecard every time they’re thrown out in ordinary conversation.    

Though suitable for a two-hour film, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy retains as much of the dense narrative as possible with its realistic backdrop of dialogue-driven espionage and paranoia. To some, the excess abundance of dialogue rather than action may seem to drag the narrative, but in turn makes for a cerebral spy thriller.

GRADE: A- (9/10)
This review is also availale on Blu-Ray.com