Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (film): Difference between revisions

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a 2011 English-language thriller film directed by Tomas Alfredson, from a screenplay by Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan based on the 1974 novel Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré.

The film stars Gary Oldman as George Smiley, and co-stars Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch and Ciarán Hinds.

Set in London in the 1970s, the story follows the hunt for a Soviet double agent at the top of the British secret service. The film was produced through the British company Working Title Films and financed by France's StudioCanal.

British intelligence officer George Smiley comes out of retirement to uncover a Russian double agent. Agent Ricki Tarr had been sent to Istanbul to investigate a Soviet agent, Boris. He is about to return to London, when he sees Boris beating up his wife, Irina, and he starts an affair with her. Irina is also a Soviet agent and tells him of the existence of a mole (a penetration agent) run by Soviet spymaster Karla, within the "Circus", the headquarters of British intelligence. Tarr takes his suspicions to Oliver Lacon, the senior civil servant in charge of intelligence.

Smiley's former boss, Control, had suspected the existence of the mole and sends agent Jim Prideaux to Budapest, Hungary to meet a Hungarian general who wishes to provide information. The operation is blown and Prideaux is shot in the back and captured by Soviet intelligence. As a result Control and Smiley retire from the Circus and Percy Alleline becomes Chief, with Bill Haydon as his deputy. Their ability to deliver apparently high grade Soviet intelligence material, code named "Witchcraft", establishes their status.

Smiley's investigations, authorised by Lacon and aided by Peter Guillam and retired researcher Connie Sachs, follow Control's chain of thought, investigating suspects code named "Tinker" (Alleline), "Tailor" (Haydon), "Soldier" (Roy Bland) and "Poorman" (Toby Esterhase). Prideaux, who has been repatriated, is interviewed at the prep school where he has taken a position as a teacher. With the aid of Tarr, Smiley lays a trap and captures the mole, who is revealed to be Haydon, at a safe-house, along with Polyakov, a Soviet intelligence officer, to whom the mole had been passing secrets, under the guise of receiving Witchcraft material. Jim Prideaux tracks his former friend Haydon down to the "Nursery" at Sarratt, the agent training and interrogation centre for the Circus, and shoots him dead. Smiley is elevated to take control of the Circus.

The scene of Operation Testify, Jim Prideaux's disastrous mission for Control, is moved from Czechoslovakia to Hungary.^[2] Ricki Tarr's mission to investigate Soviet agent Boris is moved from Hong Kong to Istanbul.^[2] Former agent Sam Collins, who features in the novel, is given the name of Jerry Westerby, who is another character in the novel and its sequel The Honourable Schoolboy.^[3] Peter Guillam is homosexual in the film, as opposed to being heterosexual in the novel.^[4] Smiley states that Karla was tortured by the Americans, an invention that is contrary to the novel. Prideaux shoots Haydon at Sarratt, rather than breaking his neck.^[3]

The project was initiated by Peter Morgan when he wrote a draft of the screenplay which he offered to Working Title Films to produce. Morgan dropped out as the writer due to personal reasons, but still served as an executive producer.^[5] Following Morgan's departure, Working Title hired Peter Straughan and Bridget O'Connor to redraft the script. Tomas Alfredson was confirmed to direct on 9 July 2009. The production was his first English-language film.^[6][7] The film was backed financially by France's StudioCanal and had a budget corresponding to 30 million US dollars.^[8]

The director cast Gary Oldman in the role of George Smiley, and described the actor as having "a great face" and "the quiet intensity and intelligence that's needed". Many actors were connected to the other roles at various points, but only days before filming started, Oldman was still the only lead actor who officially had been contracted.^[9] David Thewlis was in talks for a role early on.^[10] Michael Fassbender was in talks at one point to star as Ricki Tarr, but the shooting schedule conflicted with his work on X-Men: First Class. Tom Hardy was cast instead.^[11] On 17 September 2010 it was confirmed that Mark Strong had joined the cast.^[12][13] Jared Harris was cast but had to drop out because of scheduling conflicts with Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. He was replaced by Toby Jones.^[14]

Principal photography took place between 7 October and 22 December 2010 in London, Budapest and Istanbul.^[8] Blythe House in Kensington Olympia, west London, was used as the location for "The Circus."^[15] Other scenes were filmed in the physics department of Imperial College London. The production reunited Alfredson with cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema and editor Dino Jonsäter, with whom he had made his previous film, Let the Right One In.^[16]

The film premiered in competition at the 68th Venice International Film Festival on 5 September 2011.^[17] StudioCanal UK distributed the film in the United Kingdom, where it was released on 16 September 2011.^[18] American rights were acquired by Universal Pictures, which have a permanent first-look deal with Working Title, and passed the rights to their subsidiary Focus Features. Focus plan to give the film a wide release in the United States on 9 December 2011.^[19]

Reviews for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy have shown almost unanimous critical acclaim.^[20][21] As of 22 September 2011, the film held a 97% approval rating from 38 reviews at review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.^[21] Detractors of the film included Peter Hitchens of The Mail on Sunday, who claimed that the plot would be too baffling for viewers who had not read the book, stating that the film-makers had "needlessly messed it up".^[3]

• Official website
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy at IMDb
• Template:Allrovi movie
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy at Box Office Mojo
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy at Rotten Tomatoes
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy at Metacritic