Title: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Director: Tomas Alfredson
Actors: John Hurt, Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Benedict Cumberpatch.
Running Time: Approx 127 mins.
Distributer: Studio Canal
Release Date: 16th September



Tinker, Tailor Soldier, Spy is a riveting Drama/Thriller from director Tomas Alfredson. While the storyline is nothing new, the script, performances, along with the directing, raise the calibre of this film beyond the mere ‘whodunit’ feature.
It is based on the 1974 British Spy novel of the same name by John Le Carré.

Set in 1974, the film follows Smiley(Oldman), a spy forced into retirement along with his mentor ‘Control’ (Hurt) by his fellow colleagues after investigating claims that there is a mole at the top of “The Circus”; the higher echelon of the Secret Intelligence Service.

After recieving news that a botched mission in Istanbul that ended up with the agent shot dead, Control, head of ‘The Circus, believes one fo their own set him up.Thus “His man” Smiley is assigned to uncover the secret under the radar as the suspects are the five main Circus members.

Smiley enlists the help of eager operative Peter Guiliam (Benedict Cumberpatch) and undercover agent Ricky Tarr(Tom Hardy). Tarr is on the run after having an affair with the wife of a Moscow Centre intelligence officer.
While she confirms Hurt’s suspicions: that there is a double-agent within their own agency, the agency places the suspicion on him instead and he must go to Smiley for help.

We are taken right along with the taciturn Smiley as he delves deeper into the mystery behind the identity of the informer.He uncovers more questions than answers, however, the closer he gets to the truth.Danger lurks around every corner as he tries to peel back the folds on the men behind the Iron Curtain.

Oldman plays the taciturn Smiley to perfection, with Hurt, Tom Hardy Benedict Cumberpatch providing solid support.

This movie captures perfectly the paranoia and unease that circulated throughout the height of the Cold War; and composer Alberto Iglesias works well to keep this feeling prevalent with his moody compositions.

Credit should also go to Alfredson and Cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema, who skillfully use interposed shots of city-life London and Moscow between and during scenes, each as bleak as the other, which hints that maybe the two sides aren’t so different as they would like to think.

He (Alfredson) also gets the best out of his actors and the source material, easing us in slowly and keeping the suspense taut well into the big reveal at the end.

This is a story of loyalty, friendship and what it truly means to be a patriot.An outstanding movie not to be missed.