Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Name: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Genre: Thriller
Released: December 9, 2011
Duration: 127 min
Rating: 85

2011

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 42 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 486 Ratings

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6.6

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6.6	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 486 Ratings

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Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

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Movie Details & Credits

Focus Features | Release Date: December 9, 2011 | R

Summary: The time is 1973. The Cold War of the mid-20th Century continues to damage international relations. Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), a.k.a. MI6 and code-named the Circus, is striving to keep pace with other countries’ espionage efforts and to keep the U.K. secure. When things go awry, it's up to top lieutenant, George Smiley, aThe time is 1973. The Cold War of the mid-20th Century continues to damage international relations. Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), a.k.a. MI6 and code-named the Circus, is striving to keep pace with other countries’ espionage efforts and to keep the U.K. secure. When things go awry, it's up to top lieutenant, George Smiley, a career spy with razor-sharp senses, to get things back on track. (Focus Features)… Expand

Director: Tomas Alfredson

Genre(s): Thriller

Rating: R

Runtime: 127 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Rick Groen

Dec 15, 2011

This superb remake has the inevitable look of a period piece, a smoke-filled rendering of things past. However, thanks to Tomas Alfredson's direction, a taut screenplay, and a uniformly brilliant cast, the film also retains its contemporary relevance. Read full review

Ella Taylor

Dec 9, 2011

The screenplay, by Peter Straughan and his late wife, Bridget O'Connor, is debonair. Alfredson's mastery of tone and ambiance is flawless. The bloodletting is brief and necessarily appalling, the comedy mordant: I guarantee you will never sing along to "Mr. Woo" in quite the same way again. Read full review

Manohla Dargis

Dec 8, 2011

A pleasurably sly and involving puzzler - a mystery about mysteries within mysteries. Read full review

Shawn Levy

Dec 22, 2011

A smart and engaging entertainment. Read full review

Dana Stevens

Dec 8, 2011

The film's best moments are the quiet ones in which Oldman's ironically named Smiley provides the story with its wise, unsmiling soul. Read full review

Richard Corliss

Nov 29, 2011

At two hours, the film version is a third the miniseries' length, requiring severe compression by screenwriters Peter Straughan (The Debt) and Bridget O'Connor, which they've accomplished smartly. Read full review

Anthony Lane

Dec 27, 2011

The new film will recruit new friends to the cause; but if we seek George Smiley and his people, with their full complement of terrors, illusions, and shames, we should follow the example of the ever-retiring Smiley, and go back to our books. That's the truth. Read full review

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User Reviews

hoops2448

Dec 9, 2011

Tinker Tailor is one of the most planned out films I have seen in all my years. It is filled with subtle hints and images. It's a film that doesn't point things out, it crams the screen full of imagery and lets the viewer decide whats relevant just like Gary Oldman's George Smiley is. Its aTinker Tailor is one of the most planned out films I have seen in all my years. It is filled with subtle hints and images. It's a film that doesn't point things out, it crams the screen full of imagery and lets the viewer decide whats relevant just like Gary Oldman's George Smiley is. Its a film that marvels in the enigma that is Smiley and works best when you have no idea what he is thinking. It is one of the greatest thinking mans films. The performances are flawless with Oldman giving one of the best of his career and Colin Firth following up his Kings Speech role with something more in your face and exuberant that makes him stand out in a crowd of people known for secrets and lies. The cast is rounded out by some of the best British Thesps around from Toby Jones to Kathy Burke. The direction is so clever in the way it toys with the viewer. Its outstanding in every possible way, well worth a watch.… Expand

7 of 13 users found this helpful76

gnomeninja123

Jan 9, 2012

Fantastic. This film is not for everyone- I understand that. It took me two watches to fully understand everything (damn english names) but the cinematography was beautiful and the cast was brillant. I wou ld not recomend for the casual viewer but for someone who wants to be mind F@cked

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

danmasters1987

Jan 12, 2012

I'm writing this review purely because I feel it would be a massive injustice to this film if people were put off by people assuming critics weren't being true to their feelings on the film or viewers are simply talking up their enjoyment to claim some perceived intellectual high-ground.I'm writing this review purely because I feel it would be a massive injustice to this film if people were put off by people assuming critics weren't being true to their feelings on the film or viewers are simply talking up their enjoyment to claim some perceived intellectual high-ground. This is certainly not an easy, sit back and consume film by any stretch of the imagination, but that is ultimately it's greatest strength, as the satisfaction at the final pay-off is all the larger for it. There are LOTS of strands to arrange and balls to juggle early on, and a massive part of this film keeping all the mental plates spinning as all the little pieces start to come together to create a seamlessly interlocking whole.
I disagree with arguments of pretension in this film. While I feel it's valid for Thomas Alfredson's 'Let the Right One In' more so, though I also enjoyed that, there is no interpretation required, everything you need to know is either on screen or in the script. The more attention paid the greater the rewards, which is surely the perfect undercurrent for a spellbinding spy movie.
I only don't give it a ten because if you either don't enjoy complexity in your films (though this is not the faux-complexity of bad story-telling) it isn't for you - which bares no relation to intelligence, purely taste. Classics need to be accessible and this isn't. But if you do access it it is a hugely rewarding and satisfying journey entirely unreliant on cheap tricks and hollywood mainstays. Two hours of beautiful brain workout and tantalising story depth.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

NedRyerson1

Apr 6, 2012

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a very smart movie; it has tangled plot, characters and dialogues. And this mode is used because of the topic that this film treats: the world of the intelligence investigation where nothing is known but everyone knows something, where you always must look overTinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a very smart movie; it has tangled plot, characters and dialogues. And this mode is used because of the topic that this film treats: the world of the intelligence investigation where nothing is known but everyone knows something, where you always must look over your shoulder and where the contacts you have are worth more than yourself.
Although Tinker Tailor is a little bit slow and hard to follow, the form in which the plot is developed makes you doubt about every character and every event, so you cannot take the side of one person, because you do not know if he is the mole; and you cannot be sure if a situation that happen was real or was a staging.
This movie will amaze you as it reaches its climax, and that is a point for the director, however the applauses should be for Gary Oldman, whose performance is astonishing. The cast is also very interesting, highlighting John Hurt and Colin Firth. The title of the picture is very well achieved because those are code names.… Expand

3 of 4 users found this helpful31

Lokathor

Apr 25, 2014

This movie is confusing. This movie is slow. This movie is even boring. However, this movie presents a mood, and presents it perfectly. The mood is bleakness and mystery. This movie is great at what it does, but what it does is to sap the life from you and make everything seem bleak.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

MarioStNick

Jan 15, 2012

Before you see this movie, you need to ask yourself if you are an avid fan of the History channel. Because this Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy would be a great fit for the History channel, if the History channel was dull, boring, and uninspired. Tinker belongs as a feature movie in TheBefore you see this movie, you need to ask yourself if you are an avid fan of the History channel. Because this Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy would be a great fit for the History channel, if the History channel was dull, boring, and uninspired. Tinker belongs as a feature movie in The Invention of Lying, which showed clips of this genre as spoofs to show how dry filmmaking would be without invention. Tinker has now soundly proven the point.

I am not one who needs to be hit over the head to "get it". I like films that drops subtle clues. But Tinker's subtlety was lost on me, and I felt I needed to be hit over the head if only to put a merciful end to the two longest hours of my life. The film's greatest weakness was time discontinuity, back and forth, over and over, using the same actors, who were no younger as they went back in time. The viewer is forced to continually be looking for the time-sense of each scene, so there was little time, or desire, to sort out the intended puzzle. If you like puzzles, you may very well like this film, but I would advise, instead, that you spend your two hours poring over the 10,000 piece puzzle on your card table. You will have more fun and excitement!… Expand

5 of 9 users found this helpful54

UBERNOOBINATOR

Mar 31, 2013

I probably shouldn't review this since I slept through half the movie... then again I wasn't tired, it really did put me to sleep, it was so effing boring and I cared nothing for the characters, the plot didn't captivate me in the slightest. When the movie was over, there was an uproarI probably shouldn't review this since I slept through half the movie... then again I wasn't tired, it really did put me to sleep, it was so effing boring and I cared nothing for the characters, the plot didn't captivate me in the slightest. When the movie was over, there was an uproar through the audience complaining about just how awful it was. When I went to use the restroom complete strangers were exchanging stories about what points they nodded off and woke up and fell back asleep to. Not one person had anything good to say about it. And yet, critics have nothing but the best things to say about it. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what happened. They made a movie so high brow critics were too intimidated to say anything negative about it.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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18	#18 Best Movie of 2011
35	#35 Most Discussed Movie of 2011
6	#6 Most Shared Movie of 2011