Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

            Greetings to you, possibly healthy reader! I’m often called TheCinemaChick and I wrote this review while at the doctor’s office.  It’s currently hours later but you can’t see what I wrote so now it’ll be typed.  Don’t worry; you won’t catch a cold from me.  I went to see if I had food poisoning or not.  I don’t, just a bad reaction to a medication I recently began. Ah, but this isn’t about my health problems.  This is a movie review blog, so let us discuss the first movie of 2012 (for me), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

            Before we jump into the world of espionage, I want to take a moment to talk about the film’s poster.  It’s a simple portrait of Gary Oldman, but I believe it’s done as binary art.  His face is comprised of numbers and soft colors.  The film’s tagline, “Trust no one.  Suspect everyone” is cleverly hidden right under his eye.  It feels like a coded message, which does end up playing a huge role in the film.  I love the poster and I think it’s one of the best I’ve seen in a while.  It’s mysterious but intriguing at the same time.

            Let’s get to the cast.  Seriously, it’s like a who’s who in amazing British actors.  We’ve got John Hurt, who was in Immortals and played Ollivander in the Harry Potter series.  There’s also Mark Strong, whom you might recognize as Lord Blackwood from the first Sherlock Holmes movie.  Add in Toby Jones (the guy from Captain America), Ciaran Hinds (Aberforth from Harry Potter) and Stephen Graham and there’s no way this cast can be anything but stellar.

            Of course, we can’t forget the main star of this movie, Gary Oldman.  Yeah, he has top billing and he’s the one featured on the poster but come on, its Gary freaking Oldman!  He’s an incredible actor!  Not only does he play Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, he’s Sirius Black and Commissioner Gordon in the Batman trilogy.  One thing about him that I greatly admire is his ability to transform into any character.  Compare him as Sirius to Smiley.  He’s unrecognizable.  Also, I seriously believe he is ageless.  I looked up his age and I refuse to believe that’s true.

            As if that weren’t cool enough, let’s add Colin Firth into the mix.  I’ve made no secret of my love for this man.  He’s only in the supporting cast, but take my word on this, he is vital to the plot.  I can’t say why so just trust me.  Of course, we also have Benedict Cumberbatch.  I love saying his name out loud.  It just sounds like a “can you possibly get anymore British than that?” name.  You know what, let’s all say it together, just for fun.  His name is…

            Benedict Cumberbatch!

            Now that we’ve gone over the cast, let’s actually discuss the movie.  The first act is slow, almost painfully slow.  This was one of few times when I actually needed my soda in order to stay awake.  Nothing really happens and for the most part, it has no effect on the film overall.  Do we really need to see Smiley (Oldman) buy new glasses or go for a swim?  I don’t see why the watcher needs to see a drawn out day in the life of this character.  We don’t learn anything about him so it just felt agonizingly dull.

            However, the film does pick up.  The obstacle in the plot is that there is a mole in the agency where all these men work.  Smiley is working to figure out who it is.  For the most part, it’s a good spy flick.  I seriously didn’t know who the bad guy was until the end of the film when it’s revealed.  There’s a sublplot featuring a character named Ricky Tarr that also seemed a bit trivial.  The character itself I understand but then they add in a love interest which really didn’t seem to add anything to the story.  Plus, after they talk about the chick, she’s never mentioned again except one mention of her name at the end.

            I liked the movie.  Despite being thoroughly confused up until the final few minutes, it was a fantastic film.  It’s seamless and flows easily from one scene to the next.  Unlike most spy action thriller movies out there, you have no clue who the villain is until the end.  There’s four possible guys but the suspicion between each one is so intense that I gave up trying to figure out what was going on.  It’s visually stunning and the actors are flawless.  I would recommend Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy to someone who’s not a fan of the spy genre.  It’s definitely worth checking out if it’s playing in your area.

            I’m aware that this isn’t one of my best reviews and for that, I apologize.  I have been unable to eat in five days because of some weird sickness.  The good news is, my doctor has given me more medication.  I’m doing better so that’s a good sign.

            Next on my list is a blog dedicated to the five movies that have changed my life, thanks to a suggestion from Mumford.

            I’m TheChinemaChick and I’m thinking a nap sounds great right now.