In the new movie version of John LeCarre's spy novel, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Gary Oldman earns an Oscar nomination as George Smiley. Smiley is not a flashy man, he's quiet, determined, and loyal. He says to an underling about his Russian enemy, "The fanatic is always concealing a secret doubt." Smiley himself has no doubt throughout, even as he embarks on the difficult task of coming out of a forced retirement to investigate his former colleagues at the Circus, as the British intelligence service is known. Smiley is aware of his own weaknesses, particularly concerning his estranged wife, but he also, somewhat wearily, realizes that he must not let his personal issues blind him to the truth. In trying to understand what has happened, he looks back, coldly and without nostalgia, at the "good old days" with his comrades. One colleague says to him, "It was a good time back then," and George stares at her, saying, "It was a war." Oldman is absolutely brilliant in this role, without showiness and without scenery-chewing. He plays Smiley, a perceptive little man in a trench coat and glasses, so perfectly, it is hard to recall Oldman as Sid Vicious, as Lee Harvey Oswald, or even as Sirius Black.
The men who occupy the inner circle, in this male-centric tale, are portrayed by great actors who, while very good, don't have nearly as much to do as Oldman. These include John Hurt, Colin Firth, Ciaran Hinds, and Toby Jones. The less well-known actors have better opportunities and they make the most of it. Mark Strong is great as the spy who now lives a quiet life in a trailer and befriends a lonely schoolboy. Tom Hardy stands out as a mercenary who is both cold-blooded and sentimentally weak. Benedict Cumberbatch, recently in War Horse, plays Peter Guillam, who starts out as an uninteresting gopher helping Smiley, but then gets two great moments to run with - one tense interlude when Guillam must sneak important documents out of the Circus, and another, more painful scene when he commits to this difficult life of a spy and breaks up with his lover.
The complex plot requires attention, but this group of fine British actors commands it. This is one of the best films of the year.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is playing at the Landmark Kendall Square Cinema in Cambridge.
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