Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Review

* material mentioned in this review DOES NOT contain SPOILERS

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a drama based in 1970's Britain, which was of course in the midst of the Cold War. The story revolves around the most important members of MI6 called 'the circus'.

An accusation is made by the chief (John Hurt), also called 'control', that there is a mole within the circus leaking information to the Russians. This leads to his dismissal after a mission goes wrong, as well as that of his right hand man, Smiley (Gary Oldman). However, a high level member of government believes the conspiracy theory has legs and secretly hires the recently retired Smiley to track down the mole and this is the point at which movie moves past it introductory stage.

This initial stage is littered with a lot of jargon and words colloquial to that time which were difficult to follow at times. This problem is a feature throughout the film but especially at the beginning.  The body of the film expectedly follows our unwilling hero Smiley in pursuit of the apparent mole that lies within the circus. His mission is complicated by flashbacks the audience gets to witness of a time where things looked decidedly more rosy with the MI5 family, which is why some people within it think it inconceivable for there to be a mole within this loyal, close knit group of people all seemingly vociferously faithful to their country.

To find out whether a mole actually exists, you'll have to watch the film for yourselves, but I will say I was a bit disappointed at the speed with which the matter was concluded at the end of the film after such a detailed and tedious build up. A lack of suspense and the slight over complication of the investigation we are taken through throughout the film in search of the mole doesn't stimulate the viewer sufficiently.

(* * *) 3/5 - Gary Oldman gives an assured performance as always, but in too many instances carries the film's shortcomings upon his shoulders. A worthwhile viewing, especially for Cold War buffs.