"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"
Gary Oldman is such a first-rate character actor who has does an excellent job of making himself into a household name. All the roles he's played over the years are nothing alike. Here's a taste of Mr. Oldman's résumé: he was Lee Harvey Oswald in JFK, Dracula in Bram Stoker's Dracula, Sirius Black in several of the Harry Potter films, and Commissioner Gordon in the most recent Batman flicks. To say this guy has range is putting it mildly. In Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy we treated to yet another great performance from Oldman as he and a cast that includes Mark Strong, John Hurt, Tom Hardy, and Colin Firth tackle some tricky material from novelist John le Carré.
The frigid winds of change are blowing in the time of the Cold War. Head of British Intelligence, Control (Hurt) is forced to resign after an operation in Budapest is horribly botched. Control's top agent George Smiley (Oldman) is pressured into retirement with the departure of his boss. Before stepping aside Control does drop the strong hint of there being an agent who has turned to the other side, a mole within The Circus (MI6 agency.) Although Smiley is no longer officially with The Circus he is asked to investigate the matter of tracking down this supposed mole. Rogue agent Ricky Tarr (Hardy) who has not been in good company with The Circus is mentioned as a possible traitor and should not be trusted. In from the cold, Tarr shows up at Smiley's apartment. He tells Smiley he has been behind enemy lines and has valuable information pointing to who the double agent is. Smiley trusts Tarr and together they will get to the bottom of this top-notch spy thriller.
This film has a very complex, intricate, and at times complicated and confusing, multi-layered screenplay. The script doesn't mean to be frustrating to us or is trying to mask some sort of underlying deficiencies in storytelling or filmmaking. The screenplay is like that because the novel was probably constructed in a similar fashion. Does that make Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy out to be an unfilmable novel, who's to say? Only those who have read the book can truly attest to that. As a piece of cinema however Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy comes off as a welcome change of pace to the typical outline and format we are used to seeing. This is not a film you want to get up and go to the bathroom in the middle of. There are so many characters, twists, and turns that occur throughout the two hour runtime you really have to pay attention to what the heck is going on at all times.
Because the story is so involving and your brain is trying to make sense of all that is going on, Oldman's performance might get overlooked. If you find yourself at a point where you don't have to play catch up though, noticing everything he brings to Smiley is great. Smiley's one of those characters that have lots of subtle nuances about him. Oldman is so patient, practiced, and almost meditative in his performance that you forget that everything he is doing on screen had to be created by him and director Tomas Alfredson. Smiley is so astute, keen, clever and sharp. This is an excellent role for Oldman. This is a character that may not appear to be much on paper but actually requires an immense amount of expertise in shaping and molding from someone who can give such a powerful yet so controlled performance.
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is a film that will definitely require multiple views. What's nice about that is you'll be able to pick up on details that were missed whether it is in regards to the elaborate plot, the fine performances from the cast, or beautiful photography. Alfedson has put together a mature piece of cinema for adults. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is no Bourne Identity, Mission Impossible, or Casino Royale. There aren’t any big set pieces, action sequences, or MTV style editing techniques here. A good script with some real acting is all you find from this film. What a relief!
No comments:
Post a Comment