Enigmatic
This adaptation of the John Le Carré novel of the same name boasts a rare example of a film with a fantastic cast, paired with both great writing and direction to produce an insight to the paranoia filled, murky world of betrayal and mistrust during the cold war of 1970’s MI6.
The film explores the tense times between the British and the Russians during the cold war; the threat of nuclear war is compounded by the anxiety of the possibility of double agents and moles. This suspicion and fear has led to a state of fear and paranoia amongst the intelligence services, not only of the Russians and the threat they pose but that the people that surround them could be turned at any time to betray them.
It is this fear and paranoia that leads ‘Control’ the leader of MI6 to believe there is a mole in the very top levels of MI6, he then sends an agent he trusts to Budapest to meet with someone who can give the name of the mole. The operation goes horribly wrong and the agent is killed and identified as a British agent. With the failure of the mission, ‘Control’ is forced to retire and so is ‘Mr Smiley’ a close friend and member of MI6.
The dismissal from office leads ‘Control’ to we are led to believe end his life. It isn’t until a missing agent presumed to have gone rouge returns with information from a Russian source about a mole that ‘Mr Smiley’ is asked to examine this possibility by two government ministers.
The ensuing investigations which twist and tangle with many layers of subterfuge and subtext provide some great scenes of dialogue, acting and directing which make this film a fantastic intense exploration of the myriad shades of grey that the world of espionage inhabits.
TL;DR: “An Intense Cold War thriller that shines a light on the myriad shades of grey that is the world of espionage, with a fantastic cast and great writing, dialogue and directing.”
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