Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)

Awards

Academy Awards: Oscar won & 508 nominated
Won 12 awards & 52 nominations
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Users' rating: 7.6

88 votes

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About the movie

Year

2011

Runtime

2 h 7 min

Genre

Thriller

Countries

France, United Kingdom, Germany

Director

Tomas Alfredson

Writers

Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughan, John le Carré

Plotline

In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet agent within MI6's echelons.

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Starring

Mark Strong

John Hurt

Zoltán Mucsi

Gary Oldman

Benedict Cumberbatch

Main cast

Mark Strong Jim Prideaux

John Hurt Control

Zoltán Mucsi Magyar

Péter Kálloy Molnár Hungarian Waiter

Ilona Kassai Woman in window

Imre Csuja KGB Agent

Gary Oldman George Smiley

Toby Jones Percy Alleline

David Dencik Toby Esterhase

Ciarán Hinds Roy Bland

Colin Firth Bill Haydon

Kathy Burke Connie Sachs

Benedict Cumberbatch Peter Guillam

Stephen Graham Jerry Westerby

Arthur Nightingale Bryant

Simon McBurney Oliver Lacon

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External critics' reviews

This superb remake has the inevitable look of a period piece, a smoke-filled rendering of things past. However, thanks to Tomas Alfredson's direction, a taut screenplay, and a uniformly brilliant cast, the film also retains its contemporary relevance. more

Screenwriters Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan have clarified a few things that needed clarifying, camouflaged a few things that needed camouflaging - and gently tugged some passive flashbacks into the active present. It's a cagey adaptation. more

This is one of the finest achievements of the year, and while it's easy to lose your way in the labyrinth, I don't think Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is most interesting for its narrative pretzels. Rather, it's about what this sort of life does to the average human soul. more

The Cold War is over, but director Tomas Alfredson (Let the Right One In) and his collaborators have brought those suspicion-fueled days to vivid life in this masterful adaptation of John le CarrÃ©'s beloved 1974 spy novel. more

Utterly absorbing, extremely smart and - considering this is a sad, shabby, drably grey-green world of obsessives, misfits, misdirection, disillusionment, self-delusion and treachery - quite beautifully executed. more

The screenplay, by Peter Straughan and his late wife, Bridget O'Connor, is debonair. Alfredson's mastery of tone and ambiance is flawless. The bloodletting is brief and necessarily appalling, the comedy mordant: I guarantee you will never sing along to "Mr. Woo" in quite the same way again. more

The movie's intricacy, and the way it finds its way into the emotional lives of its characters via (and not in spite of) that intricacy, is what makes it extraordinary. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy challenges audiences to believe in craftsmanship again. more

After establishing an atmosphere of nearly unbearable dread, Alfredson keeps thickening and chilling it. more

I had to see the new version twice to realize that there's so much to appreciate about this multilayered production. more

What contemporary relevance you may find in Alfredson's chilly, marvelously acted and gorgeously composed new film of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - is a highly individual question. more

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