Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011, Tomas Alfredson)

Cold War: Being convinced that a Soviet mole operates at the top of the "Circus" (the British Intelligence Service), the head of the service, Control (John Hurt) charged Jim Prideaux (Mark Strong) to meet a Hungarian informant in Budapest who knows the identity of the mole. Tinker? Tailor? Soldier? Or maybe Poor Man? Unfortunately, the mission went wrong, Prideaux got killed, Control was forced to resign and the investigation was off until Ricki Tarr (Tom Hardy), a rogue agent who hadn’t returned reappeared and confirmed Control’s suspicion about the double agent. Thanks to Tarr and the help of Peter Guillam (Benedict Cumberbatch), George Smiley (Gary Oldman) is going to find out.

Benedict Cumberbatch

After the Tailor of Panama and the Constant Gardener, John Le Carre is back to the film industry with another enthralling story. Like Le Carre's works, this is too realistic to be compared to 24 or 007: the long conversations, slow plot development and absence of car chases or gunshots may annoy some but Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a riveting true to life flick in which one has to be focused at 100%. Some sequences appear irrelevant but each of them carries a piece of information to assemble the puzzle. I had to watch it one more time to spot clues I had missed. 

People like myself, who are not familiar with the spy circle could imagine what spooks's life is like through the ingredients depicted in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy such as the relationship between the agents.

Indeed, The Artist won the oscars but this film, being carried by most of Britain's finest, delivers too. In other words, Gary Oldman does not need to be worried about the awards.

Memorable quote 

Control (to Prideaux): Trust noone Jim, especially not in the mainstream

SEE ALSO: 
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
Sherlock (2010-)