TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY (Theatrical Release USA 2011)

Ben Meyers’ rating: 4.9|5.0 Starsìììì

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy—based on the book and the BBC TV series of the same name—is a complete mind twister. The story is worth a fortune. And, audiences evidently thought so, too, as it made $4 to $1 on box office sales versus budget expenses. This film is well done to a ‘t’ for a ‘whodunnit’ storyline. The movie relies on an all-star British cast chosen by the unusually talented Jina Jay (Munich, The Grand Budapest Hotel). Director Tomas Alfredson shows tremendous direction ability in this movie.

Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia

Storyline

George Smiley (Gary Oldman), British Intelligence, is forced into retirement due to mishandling of the welfare and safekeeping of a defecting Hungarian General. He finds there is a mole within the agency and works to unmask its identity.

Additional Thanks

Thank you to Director Tomas Alfredson for directing efforts. Thank you to Executive Producers Liza Chasin, Olivier Courson, Ron Halpern, Debra Hayward, John le Carré, Peter Morgan, and Douglas Urbanski for making the film possible. Additional characters/cast include: Jim Prideaux (Mark Strong), Control (John Hurt), Magyar (Zoltán Mucsi), Hungarian Waiter (Péter Kálloy Molnár), Woman in Window (Ilona Kassai), KGB Agent (Imre Csuja), and Percy Alleline (Toby Jones).

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?

Yes. The film stays engaged with its audience. This is not a ‘get-up-and-get-popcorn-and-catch-the-rest-of-the-show-when-you-get-back’ type of movie.

Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers