Gary Oldman is George Smiley, a weary intelligence officer who’s been worn down by decades of employment in Her Majesty’s sneakiest service. Even in a flick packed with heavyweight British actors, the Dark Knight thesp’s transformation into the greying, sullen agent is the undisputed highlight.
Lured back into MI6 to uncover a Russian mole within the organization, Smiley is a reserved shadow of a man; equal parts muted presence and chilling authority.
It’s a shame the rest of the stellar cast doesn’t hold up as well. With the likes of John Hurt and Colin Firth on board, you’d expect the meatiest of acting chops to sink your chompers into. Yet most of the cast is underused or forgotten for large chunks of the story, as the plot see-saws between flashbacks in Hungary and Istanbul and the grimly lit present of ’70s London.
Tom Hardy and Sherlock’s Benedict Cumberbatch thankfully show the old-timers how it should be done, with Hardy turning a character that could have been an obnoxious poser into a layered, conflicted creation.
Yet despite Oldman and Hardy’s best efforts, the story plays out at a plodding, confusing pace that only manages to capture the imagination in fits and starts. In the end, the telegraphed ‘twist’ is also approximately as subtle as a King Kong smashing biplanes atop a Chicago skyscraper.
What should continually hold your interest is the look and sound of the piece, though. The cinematography subtly echoes the uncertain, overcast political times of the ’70s, bathing everything in unsettling, understated shades of grey. Score-wise, the music of Spanish composer Alberto Iglesias rekindles the spirit of the ancient Alec Guinness-fronted TV show that informs much of the film’s tone.
Moving back to Oldman, it’s hard to fathom that this is the same man who played Sid Vicious in Sid And Nancy or a drugged-up, scene-stealing cop in Leon. In short, he’s a ruddy acting chameleon. And that’s why this film demands to be seen: purely for the sensational turn from its leading man.
