Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is based on John le Carré's 1974 spy novel about the hunt to catch a Soviet spy in the British secret service in the 1970s. It's one of the more sophisticated spy thrillers of any kind in recent years, and though it requires an extreme amount of patience and attention to fully understand, it's well worth it. For one thing, the cast is just insane: Gary Oldman is the best of show with his Oscar-nominated performance as George Smiley, but his immense supporting cast, including Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch and Ciarán Hinds, aren't far behind either. The story may already have been adapted successfully into the acclaimed 1979 BBC mini-series of the same name, but Tomas Alfredson's lavish treatment is a suitably truncated alternative for those who don't want to sink over 5 hours into the story. It therefore may not be as richly detailed, and the complexity may be absolutely dizzying at times, but the superior performances make it utterly essential.
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
