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To the last year of his life, Le Carre himself was a contemporary writer. He understood that his work had to be current to be relevant. The main drawback of this film is that it attempts to go back in time by the very tricky distance of 35-40 years, from 2011 back to 1974. Long enough for many of the attitudes of the time to have been rejected, but nowhere near long enough to give perspective. Modern films of the Thatcher era suffer from similar issues. One of the biggest problems is context. Le Carre's immediate readership were soaked in the patriotic messages of the war generation. For them, no explanation was needed of a shop-worn, fading, but nonetheless sincere belief in the greatness and uniqueness of Britain. However, a modern generation needs more footnotes concerning the nature of patriotism at that time. In the original tv serial of this book, this was convincingly conveyed by the rituals of Prideaux's prep school, and his over-the-top patriotic language to the pupils he taught. Also, by Connie's alcohol-soaked reminiscences of the good old days. These scenes were supposed to ring a little hollow. Here, however, they fall flat. Thrown away here are both the British class system and the shared sense of scholarly elitism of the parvenus. On the one hand, Ann the aristocrat, Haydon the athletic public schoolboy totally at ease in all social situations, & the pompous, ambitious Allelyne. On the other hand, the less well-born scholars with Firsts from Oxford: Control, Connie, Roy Bland, and Smiley. Class was very important postwar, especially in quasi-military institutions, more especially because of the egalitarian influence of very heavy taxation. This key element of the times, much discussed by Le Carre, is entirely missed here. The film assembles a fantastic cast, and there are many interesting individual performances. Here, the Circus top brass all seem less confident & more introspective than in the tv version. Oldman's Smiley is only the most eccentric and remote of a disparate group of damaged individuals, visibly twisted by their secret and paranoid trade. Of these, Hurt, Jones, Strong, & Firth give good performances. However, McBurney is entirely too contemporary as Lacon, and Hardy is very poor and entirely contemporary as Ricki Tarr. Cumberbatch is more the right age to play junior man Guillam than was Jayston in the tv version, though his character is also given some of Haydon's bisexuality, possibly to put bisexuality on the side of the angels, and possibly to add depth to Guillam's hero-worship of Haydon. Here, the girls chase Guillam rather than vice-versa. However, the second main failing of the film is a lack of ensemble feeling. All of these accomplished actors seem to give their own take on the era and its manners. This weakness of central direction and coherence also affects the lack of drama in the lead up to the climax. The score doesn't help. Overall, one feels that this film should be shown in directors schools, as a textbook example of how a director can fail even the most talented of casts. Nonetheless, there's still plenty to enjoy here. Performances: 8/10. Period feel: 4/10. Drama: 5/10. Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Excellent all round , gripping , exciting and the gathering together of some of the best actors in the business
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Very happy with purchase
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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