I'm not sure about the other European critics, but so far the U.K. critics here seem to love one picture above all others: Tomas Alfredson's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, an adaptation of John Le Carré's 1974 novel, stars Gary Oldman as George Smiley, the deposed British spy who must find the mole who's compromising MI6 -- or "the circus" -- in order to put the organization, and his life, back together. In addition to being based on an enormously popular book, Alfredson's picture is also haunted by a ghost: The 1979 TV mini-series, which featured Alec Guinness in the George Smiley role. Who'd want to try to top that?
The key to Oldman's performance in this beautifully constructed thriller is that he's not trying to top anyone, not even himself. In the late '80s and early '90s, Oldman built a career out of playing brash roles -- in pictures like Sid and Nancy, JFK and True Romance -- layered with so much acting that you could barely discern a character beneath. But in recent years, he's shown a more delicate touch; no longer having to be the over-the-top kid, the flashiest performer in the room, has agreed with him.
In Tinker, Tailor, he's a man who's not just in danger of losing everything he loves; he could lose everything he stands for, which is worse. In one scene he describes to a younger agent how, years ago, he urged a Russian operative -- one who would later become a top spymaster for the other team -- to come to the West. Smiley frames the argument in terms of the man's wife, suggesting that he could make her life better and more anxiety-free. He re-enacts the moment, speaking to an empty chair, as it becomes clear that it's his own estranged wife who's foremost in his thoughts. Oldman is remarkable here for how little he does, for how little he has to do. Oldman's dignity, borne of experience and of making lots and lots of mistakes, is less something you can see than something you can feel. He wears his character's regrets lightly, like a bespoke jacket, a state of being made just for him. It's a remarkable performance.
The picture overall is notable less for its complex plot than for the emotional context of each of its nested backstories-within-backstories. Alfredson (Let the Right One In) allows each character to emerge gradually but distinctly, as if out of fog, into a fully formed human being with certain motivations and heartbreaks. The uniformly terrific ensemble cast includes Colin Firth, Tobey Jones, Ciarán Hinds, John Hurt, Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hardy. Especially noteworthy is Mark Strong, as the agent who's perhaps the most harshly tested of all; he plays the character's desolation and determination as two sides of the same coin. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy feels both old-fashioned and modern at once. And its lovely, understated score (by Alberto Iglesias), with its whispering strings and muted trumpets, perfectly suits the movie's palette of soft mauves and grays. This is a movie rendered in the colors of smoke, though its contours are solid and shapely, formed with the utmost care.
Read more of Stephanie Zacharek's 20011 Venice Film Festival coverage here.