Based on the John le Carre's Cold War spy novel. Set in the 1970s George Smiley (Oldman), a recently retired MI6 agent, is doing his best to adjust to a life outside the secret service. However, when a disgraced agent reappears with information concerning a mole at the heart of the Circus, Smiley is drawn back into the murky field of espionage.
Reviews
Empire Magazine
Angie Errigo
"It was certainly a brave undertaking, tackling what is not only one of the greatest espionage novels ever, but one whose 1979 serialisation by the BBC lingers in the memory of everyone of a certain age. It’s a pleasure and a relief, then, that the film succeeds in its own right. It is a superior whodunnit thriller and a very grown-up one, devoted not to guns, girls, gadgets and glamour, but to the little grey cells"
20/09/2011
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The Guardian
Peter Bradshaw
"This Tinker Tailor is a weightless, slo-mo nightmare taking place in what looks like an aquarium filled with poison gas instead of water: I found it more gripping and involving than any crash-bang action picture."
15/09/2011
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The Daily Telegraph
Sukhdev Sandhu
"[The film] has a languid, meditative quality that aligns it with superior modern-day dramas on television, such as Wallander and The Killing. Is it a coincidence that these have a Scandinavian connection? "
15/09/2011
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Channel 4 Film
Catherine Bray
"Here, characters and audience alike must keep a tight grip on the thread of events or risk getting lost in a maze of plot and counterplot."
20/09/2011
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The Observer
Philip French
"This is as lucid and accomplished a screen version of a long, complicated novel as I have seen."
17/09/2011
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The Scotsman
Siobhan Synnot
"Oldman turns out to be a perfect fit."
13/09/2011
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The Independent
Anthony Quinn
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is the anti-Bond movie par excellence. "
16/09/2011
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The Independent on Sunday
Jonathan Romney
"Part of the pleasure of Tinker Tailor is the anxious thrill of getting lost in its winding corridors. "
18/09/2011
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The Daily Mail
Chris Tookey
"This is a mature film - a character drama, as much as a thriller - aimed at grown-ups."
15/09/2011
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The Evening Standard
David Sexton
"It's admirable, yes, but it fails to move as it should."
16/09/2011
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Total Film
Matthew Leyland
"Alfredson’s direction is as hypnotic as silent snowfall."
07/09/2011
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Time Out
Dave Calhourn
"...a marvel of wise and respectful adaptation. "
20/09/2011
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The Times
Wendy Ide
"One thing is clear: great storytelling is timeless. "
05/09/2011
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Uncut Magazine
Michael Bonner
"...there is very little action here; yet Alfredson gradually, imperceptibly ratchets up the tension."
20/09/2011
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Sight & Sound
Philip Kemp
"Where the film loses out, having had to shoehorn a convoluted plot into a restricted running time, is in the denouement. "
20/09/2011
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The Sunday Times
Cosmo Landesman
"[U]nlike a Christie mystery that invites you to consider the evidence and make a guess as to who is guilty, Tinker Tailor keeps us out in the cold: we have to watch the experts do it. "
18/09/2011
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The Financial Times
Leo Robson
"The director tries to out-Kubrick Kubrick with a prowling camera and an icy tone – but fails. "
15/09/2011
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