Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Ratings: 7.5/10

Film Class: A

Genre: Thriller

I shan't pretend to be atas or intellectual by saying that this movie was awesome just because of the seemingly intellectual plot (or subtle) it has. However, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is indeed a classy old school espionage film. The film begins in media res (meaning the story begins either in mid-point and end-point and relating the story backwards) and is about uncovering a mole in the highest echelon of the Secret Intelligence Service, the Circus. There's this high class, intellectual, vintage film noir feel to the story, cinematography and casting. 

There's Gary Oldman, Mark Strong, Colin Firth, John Hurt and other outstanding casts which made Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (man I'll never get sick of saying the title) more classy than it already is. However, I really thought the movie was going somewhere, until the middle portion where they kinda lost me. It was then an uphill battle for me to try to decipher what in the tinker tailor were they talking about? After wiki-ing it, ahh, the plot wasn't that hard to understand afterall. However, the way the movie was filmed, it was too "subtle" for me to grasp.  

It's not those kinda movies that gives you the story right smack in your face. There's a lot of thinking, but somehow the movie doesn't seem to put me on the right track of thinking. Before I knew it, the "facts" (the identity of the traitor) was laid out in front of me and I was clueless how they even came to such a conclusion. 

Tinker Tailor Solder Spy is not an artsy thought-provoking movie but you're sure to get a hardhitting mind f*** (pardon the language, don't think there's a more appropriate way to put it) experience if you decide to give this movie a viewing. Either that, leave your brains shut down, watch the movie, and go "huh"? when the credits roll.  I believe that will be a happier option for most. 

PS.: This movie deserves to be A class purely for the cinematography, style, soundtrack and cast. Don't expect drooling special effects because there are close to none. Don't expect any action because there are close to none. And don't expect any humor because the words "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" are as funny as it'll ever get in this serious movie.