Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Went to see this on Friday night, utterly impressed. The natural caveat is that this isn't a conventional thriller, there are no explosions and no car chases. It's the Cold War: dark, depressing, unsettling and paranoid. The story is subtle and you'll need to be paying attention or you'll forget important bits, but it's the sort of film I would happily watch twice to understand it better. Compared to the miniseries, I felt the beginning was much more accessible which was a welcome improvement.

For those unaware of the plot, it is the height of the Cold War and things are going wrong for SIS. The head of the Service, Control, suspects there is a mole, an agent dispatched to Hungary is gunned down and the Americans are no longer pals after a previous infiltration of the Service. George Smiley, dismissed following the incident, is hired as an outside man to investigate.

Fans of the TV series (starring Alec Guinness) won't be disappointed and the cast is similarly stellar; pretty much all the rising British stars are in this one and it seems that Colin Firth can do no wrong at the moment. The cinematography is outstanding as is the direction, everything is subdued and faintly dingy. Some people might find the ending a bit of an anti-climax, but it was never about a grand finale.

Highly recommended.

This is currently top of the 'go and see' list for me and I dislike going to the cinema as a rule.

When I saw the cast list I thought (or hoped) it had to be pretty good, I'm glad to hear that it is. :)

Yeah I saw it - liked it.... :)

Felt a little slow in places but pleased I've seen it

Can't wait to see it.
Gary oldman{ I take it he's smiley] is good, but can he be as good as alec guiness?

Saw this last night, and thought it was the worst film I've seen in a while (yes, really)
especially with the great cast and filming that it had.

So glacially slow, with little to no character development or even introducing the characters - its heavily assumed you know them all from the book/series. But I found it just dull and boring.

From the reaction of others (who were fans of the book and series) I think its only worth seeing if you've read the book or watched the 1970s series.
Friends watching it with me knew all the character and nuances - so this was really almost a retelling for them.

Dismiss my view if you like (hard to find a negative review!), but make sure you've read the book or watched the 70s series first !