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SOUND OFF

Sound Off: Tomas Alfredson's 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy' - Thoughts?

by Alex Billington
December 9, 2011

Now that you've seen it, what did you think? Is it Tinker, Tailor, Soldier or Spy? Arriving in select US theaters starting this weekend (December 9th) is Swedish Let the Right One In director Tomas Alfredson's newest film Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, based on the John Le Carré's novel. This dense spy drama boasts an excellent British cast, including Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Strong, Toby Jones, Ciarán Hinds and John Hurt. So how is this spy flick? Complex? Riveting? Does the outstanding cast carry the film? Once you've seen it, leave a comment below with your thoughts on Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

I choose... Spy. I had the opportunity to see Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy a while ago, and while I tried to enjoy it and follow as much as I could, I just never got into it. I found it far too dull, just flat and often times too confusing to keep up with. Plus It wasn't interesting enough for me to care to keep up with, despite so many great actors being very British. I have to say that I found Benedict Cumberbatch particularly captivating, along with Tom Hardy and of course Gary Oldman, giving an awards-worthy performance no doubt. But beyond that there wasn't much I liked in this, but I do want to see it again to try and make more sense of the story and all of the characters, since there were so many nicknames being thrown around. Not my cup o' tea.

What did you think of Tinker Tailor? Your favorite film of the year or boring and confusing? We will remove any comments that indicate you have not seen the movie, as this area is meant to discuss the film only once you have seen it and can talk about your thoughts. Please keep the comments civilized!

Filed under Discuss, Hype, Sound Off

From around the web:

Aurens66

Try reading the book before you see it a second time, I enjoyed the pacing and the atmosphere, and to me the film was riveting.
Anonymous

you said it..........although we never read the book. the atmosphere and acting were top-notch.
tinker

This was fantastic. Rather surprised at the negative comments... I was riveted. There's a beautiful elegance to these kind of intellectual thrillers - that great feeling of being submerged in the density of information and racing to get above the surface
Emma Mackenzie

One of the year's best films. When I first heard about it I thought the premise was very similar to 'The Sentinel' (2006) but it is far superior to that film.
Flamenx01

I totally agree with Alex's description of the film. You probably have to have read the the book first to fully understand the film. Which I think is a bad thing.
Dom

It came out in the uk some time back, but I too sadly found it boring. I actually didn't find it all that confusing in its context.. what annoyed me was how they tried to make it appear more complex by jumping time frames abruptly and thus confusing the viewer. One thing I thought was smack on were the costume and set designs - perfectly matched to the period in england - very grey, no colour.
- Flamenx01
  
  That's exactly what I thought of it.
tir na nog

I thought it was over-rated,not bad but not great either.
Anonymous

So mad its not released in my city the week it goes wide, I have been looking forward to this since the first trailer dropped.
Niles J

LOVED it... Cinematography and acting were outrageously good... Thought Benedict Cumberbatch was particularly mesmerizing.. Big fan of the book, which is also pretty complex - pacing and atmosphere were very true to the novel.
Richie G

I liked it, but I wouldn't watch it again. Its been a while since I've seen it, but I think the only thing that confused me was weather Mark Strong was alive or not after he was shot, every other character having flashbacks after all. It wasn't til ye see Gary Oldman with his new glasses frames (a nice way to distinguish between the timeline) talkin to Mark Strong that I realized he had survived. I can't remember any of the character's names at this point. I loved the story and the focus on relationships and their manipulation (proper spy stuff), but the pacing and lack of variation in tone really suffocated it.
lecarrefan

nothing could compare to Alec Guiness' portrayal of "Smiley" in the TV series long ago (early eighties?)
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IRIOGNZBUUKVTQP3PDBTLZNP2Q Marcus

I loved this movie, thought the direction was well done. It demanded that you pay excruciatingly close attention to the nuances of each scene, which may have been too much to demand. If you are confused by the plot, my tip is to go to imdb, rottentomatoes etc. BEFORE you see the movie and match the names of characters to the actors playing them.
Leectt

I'm 72 yrs.old and have been an avid movie fan all my life. I just have one comment/question to make after seeing this film-WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!?! You obviously have a totally different definition of the "movie" than I do.
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alex w

I thought that the trailer made the movie seem more intense then it was. I still enjoyed parts of the movie, but ultimately was a little let down. I love the story though. I honestly think the one thing that wouldve made a world of difference is if they had a different score. Wasnt a fan, although the Oscars seem to be.