Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

A film with great reviews and a great fanfare which meant I just HAD to see it. Was it worth it? Well....yes and no. 

The film is an adaptation of the well known spy novel by John Le Carre. It was published in 1974, there was a famous BBC serial, and I read it whilst at school and was very keen on it at the time. Time moves on though, the Cold War has long ago ended, and much more cool and trendy spies have taken over. To be honest, the main reason I liked the film was because of the memories it brought back for me - not only of reading the novel and watching the series, but the whole experience of the horrible, dirty, smoky, cold - and poverty ridden - seventies. Boy, was everything grim and grey!! - no laptops, no iPhones, no CDs and DVDs, no Sky+ and perhaps just as well - no X Factor, Strictly Come Dancing and no brain numbing celebrity culture - how on earth did we survive? Conversely enough, it is by far my favourite time period though, and a quick look at my concert reviews will show that. 

What this film does best then is to portray the early to mid seventies almost exactly as they were. It is a hugely nostalgic trip down memory lane, at times veritably reeking so much with the feeling of the time that it almost brings a tear to the eye - but having said that, I wouldn't go back knowing what I know now and I would prefer to have my iPhone!

The other thing the novel and the film does well is to bring out how stuffy the old civil service was. This is hugely nostalgic to me as well because that era has also long gone, destroyed by cold hearted managerialism and spreadsheet-itus gone mad. 

Where the film doesn't score well is the story. Much of the plot is bordering on the incomprehensible, and is not helped by much of the jargon used. It also helps if you have a working knowledge of the political and world situation of the times. Luckily I had a vague memory of the plot, and was OK with the other two requirements, but I would have been lost otherwise. It doesn't help either that the story is pretty much a dud anyway - the Cold War ended, leaving one wondering what the all the fuss was about with such ultimately trivial stuff. 

To sum up - if you hearken back to the seventies and want a full on reminder of what it was like, then this is a great film. On the other hand, if you want a riveting storyline, then I'd say don't bother.