Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011) starring Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Ciaran Hinds. George Smiley (Oldman) learns that there is a mole in The Circus (British Intelligence) and comes out of retirement to try and track him (or her) down. The movie's attempt to condense a John le Carre novel into two hours makes it just too tough to follow. The film is long on plot and talk and short on action, though I'm not sure that's what made the difference. There are an awful lot of characters to keep track of, and even with the subtitles turned on I couldn't keep track of them all. I have the feeling that this is a really well made movie, intricately plotted, but I just couldn't follow it. Grade: B-

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965) starring Richard Burton, Claire Bloom, Oskar Werner. Burton stars as a British Cold War spy, on the brink of retirement, who is sent on one last, dangerous mission. Bloom plays the woman who has the misfortune to fall in love with him. The twists and turns of the plot are surprisingly clear, and at the end I felt I understood pretty well what motivated the characters and why they made the decisions they did. The movie was adapted from a John Le Carre novel. Burton was nominated for an Oscar for his performance. English subtitles are available, as well as closed captions. Grade: A-

The Debt

The Debt (2010) starring Helen Mirren, Sam Worthington, Jessica Chastain, Tom Wilkinson, Ciaran Hinds. Three Israeli Mossad agents travel to East Berlin in 1965 to try to capture the "Surgeon of Birkenau," a dangerous war criminal. Rachel Singer (Mirren) has to relive the events years later when her daughter writes a book about her. When it turns out that some of the events told in the book aren't true, the 30-years-older Singer must go on a dangerous mission into Ukraine. Chastain plays the younger version of Singer. This is an intense, watchable movie, but there's something not-quite-right about the ending. The director seems to want to have his cake and eat it too. Nevertheless, overall, a watchable entertainment. Good subtitles, no closed captions. Grade: A-