"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" (Creative Commons)

"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" is shot like a work of art. It successfully captures the essence of the Cold War film era and the tone of the novel. Cutting right to the point, the first scenes of the film suddenly, artfully enrapture you with every little detail, not unlike the effects created in Michelangelo Antonioni’s early films.

There is a scene in the opening, when a mother becomes the casualty of a shooting, and you see a close up of the baby still crying and writhing in her dead arms. The scene imprints in your mind and boldly relays the tension in the air, and sets the unforgivingly realistic tone for the rest of the film. The rest of the film is captured through various angles, presenting dimensions and dynamism which would not have been experienced otherwise. 

However, in terms of adapting the novel to the silver screen, the film does not fare as well. What the first quarter of the film makes up in building tone, it loses in its incoherency in communicating the back story, especially for someone who has not read the book. While the quantity and intensity of the twists and turns would be quite desirable in a regular spy flick, in this one they just add to the perplexity of the viewer.

Set during the Cold War, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" follows retired MI6 agent George Smiley as he uncovers a Soviet double-agent from within the top ranks of the organisation. Director Tomas Alfredson, critically acclaimed for his film adaptation of "Let The Right One In," does not fail to lend this film also a touch of realism. Yet, the film innovatively uses camera angles and effects to recreate the retro, noir tone of the novel. It effectively communicates the sense of living in a period of conflict and espionage. 

It does not, however, succeed in communicating pathos. The performance from Gary Oldman was commendable. He manages to get across Smiley’s curiously cold, perspicacious character really well, but its limited to only a few dimensions of his character. Even after considering the inevitable loss of character depth when adapting media from book to film, Smiley’s bland portrayal still disappoints. There is furthermore little transformation visible in him by the end of the story. Performances from Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Strong and Tom Hardy stood out as admirable. Colin Firth, however, acted like he acts in every movie he stars in; nothing new there.

Perhaps the film’s chief flaw is its anti-climactic ending. It opens so well, with lots of loose ends for the audience to unravel, but the ending fails to impress and console the gradual tension that is built up. The end result is disappointment.

Reach reporter Raunak Khosla here.