Archetypal John Le Carre procedural espionage tale as the identity of a high-ranking mole in the British Secret Service needs to be flushed out.
A who’s who of British male thesps clutter MI6 offices as retired George Smiley (Gary Oldman – Darkest Hour, The Dark Knight) is tasked with tracking the agent down, aided and abetted by Peter Guillam (Benedict Cumberbatch – Doctor Strange, The Power of the Dog), a man who has his own secrets. Helped or hindered, the suspicious death of Control (John Hurt – Alien, The Elephant Man) increases the urgency of cleaning up the East European desk.
Early 1970s Cold War politics, a bungled operation in Budapest that saw Mark Strong (1917, Kingsman) shot – leaving Colin Firth, Toby Jones, Ciaran Hinds and David Dencik on Smiley’s radar. A painstaking, dour investigation is put into action, resulting in an enthralling, wordy spy thriller directed by Tomas Alfredson (The Snowman, Let the Right One In).
Nominated for 3 Oscars in 2012 – best actor (Oldman), adapted screenplay, music score.
Rating: 74%
An Opinion or Two 