5. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) – Directed by Tomas Alfredson
The plot: John le Carre, known worldwide for his brilliant thriller novels, redefined the spy genre with his Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. In the bleak environment of the Cold War, veteran spy George Smiley is once more involved with MI6, when he has to uncover a Soviet spy amongst them. But nothing is what it seems, and everyone is a professional spy. How do you know who is spying for who?
Why the adaptation works: “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”is an enormously impressive piece of work,”writes Kenneth Turan, from Los Angeles Times. I completely agree with him, because this adaptation succeeds as an adaptation and a film that can stand alone. Everything is top-notch, from the directing to the cast and performances to the writing. Swedish director Tomas Alfredson, known for “Let The Right One In,” has assembled a cast consisting of some of the greatest actors in Britain today. Gary Oldman is spellbinding in his subtle, yet intelligent and confident, portrayal of a semi-retired MI6-spy. Both Benedict Cumberbatch and Colin Firth play, perhaps, not the their most well-known roles in this film, but definitely some of their best. All of these performances are amazing and they fit the cold, calculated and mysterious directing of the film, like pieces of an elaborate, complicated and fascinating puzzle.
