Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979) – J. Irvin

Well, sure it is rather drab – in style, sets, locales – but this is Britain during the Cold War, so shouldn’t it be?  The 1970s hair and clothes are a bit unfortunate, but nothing can detract from Sir Alec Guinness’s subtle and compelling performance as spy/bureaucrat George Smiley.  Le Carre’s story unfolds across 7 episodes (given much more room than Gary Oldman’s recent turn at Smiley in the terrible 2011 version of the novel), which builds suspense despite the lack of any physical action at all.  The plot is built around political machinations, half uncovered clues, and Smiley’s crafty persistence – and by Episode 7, I still didn’t know who the mole was.  A second series (Smiley’s People) was made in 1982 – I can’t wait.  Maybe I’ll start to give TV a chance after all.