I was finally able to get to Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy last night with the dish. And the verdict? ABSOLUTELY.
I’ve been itching at the seams for several months now as I’m having shit Hollywood fare thrown in my face.
This is the master’s class in espionage, not for lightweights. If you want bang, bang, shoot, shoot, go see the new Mission Impossible, which is actually the best of the Tom Cruise series. This is subtle, complex. This is 18-year-old Scotch. Real espionage does not unfold in a series of action sequences. Real spying unfolds over time, drawn out like a knife blade in the darkness. It takes years to develop the senses, the self-restraint, the control required to spy on anyone at anytime.
The supporting cast is second to none. Colin Firth as Bill Haydon, Mark Strong as Jim Prideaux, John Hurt as Control, Benedict Cumberbatch as Peter Guillam, AND Tom Hardy as Ricki Tarr. One gets the feeling they were all chomping at the bit to act with Oldman.
I’ll be seeing this a few more times before it’s all done and then I’ll be revisiting the BBC series from 1979 with Sir Alec Guinness.
