Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Synopsis
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN director Tomas Alfredson takes the helm for this adaptation of John Le Carré's novel about an ex-British agent who emerges from retirement to expose a mole in MI6. England, 1973: British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) head Control (John Hurt) and his top-ranking lieutenant George Smiley (Gary Oldman) are both forced into retirement after a mission involving respected secret agent Jim Prideaux (Mark Strong) turns unexpectedly deadly. As the Cold War continues to escalate, suspicions of a Soviet double agent begin to grow within SIS. Subsequently summoned by Undersecretary Oliver Lacon (Simon McBurney), Smiley is secretly reemployed by the SIS in order to root out the double agent suspected of sharing top-secret British intelligence with the Soviets. Meanwhile, as Smiley and his new partner Peter Guillam (Benedict Cumberbatch) begin systematically examining all of the official missions and records involving MI6, the veteran spy can't help but recall an encounter he once had with Karla, a dangerous Russian operative, years prior. At first, uncovering the identity of the infiltrator seems nearly impossible. Smiley and Guillam get a big break, however, when undercover agent Ricki Tarr (Tom Hardy) reveals that he has fallen for a mysterious woman in Turkey named Irina (Svetlana Khodchenkova), who may have a crucial lead. Later, upon learning that Control had comprised a list of five possible suspects, code-named Tinker (Toby Jones), Tailor (Colin Firth), Soldier (Ciarán Hinds), Poor Man (David Dencik), and Beggar Man -- none other than Smiley himself -- the investigation begins to heat up again.

Reviews
"Huge on period atmosphere....Visually absorbing..." (Hollywood Reporter)

4 stars out of 5 -- "Alfredson's direction is as hypnotic as silent snowfall. As in his tender horror, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, slow and steady wins the race..." (Total Film)

"[With] a crack cast, tight scripting and Alfredson's direction, bringing to it something of the cool control and refusal to sensationalize that made his breakthrough movie LET THE RIGHT ONE IN so exceptional." (Sight and Sound)

4 stars out of 5 -- "Alfredson gradually, imperceptibly ratchets up the tnesion....It always comes back -- brilliantly -- to Oldman's Smiley..." (Uncut)

4 stars out of 5 -- "It's a Cold War-era tale, one that plays out in moral shades of gray, where the broad and brilliant cast engage each other with a series of smiling lies....TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY is the intellectual action flick of your dreams." (Box Office)

"Director Tomas Alfredson impeccably captures the Cold War era....The film employs a largely British cast that is perhaps the most impressive ensemble of any movie this year." (USA Today)

"[D]eliciously, thrillingly, brilliantly complex....This is a film to which very close attention must be paid, but the rewards of doing so are considerable." (Los Angeles Times)

"At times it's enthrallingly clever and subtle....A movie of deceptions within deceptions and clues that glide by in a murmured flash." -- Grade: B+ (Entertainment Weekly)

3 stars out of 4 -- "TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY looks, sounds and feels exactly right. Alfredson's film is faithful to the tone set by the novel." (Chicago Sun-Times)

"[A] pleasurably sly and involving puzzler -- a mystery about mysteries within mysteries." (New York Times)

"The picture is so meticulously constructed -- like an elaborate mechanical watchwork -- that details can slip past you if you’re not paying careful attention....[The film] challenges audiences to believe in craftsmanship again." (Movieline)

3 stars out of 4 -- "It's a 1970s story told in 1970s style, an unrepentant un-reboot so old school that it feels subversively new." (Washington Post)