On the whole, Tinker is a high-level work, excellent in all aspects, photography, soundtrack and art director are excellent, and quite original and ingenious, and the shiny cast is flawless. Let me first mention Hoyte Van Hoytema's photography. I really appreciate his use of the motif concept of "frame" in various image structures in the film, which not only conforms to the theme of the story, but also completes the sense of peep that the director wants to give the audience. In addition, a few original works are not available, and the additional dramas will not make people feel out of place, and even very cleverly narrate the relationship between the characters and introduce the personalities of the characters.
Tinker's rhythm is calm, but not boring. Some people feel bored. I don't feel that way at all. Instead, I feel that it is ready to go from beginning to end, like an arrow of tension and solemnity. This kind of control of the tight atmosphere was successfully shown by Alfredson in his first film, Let The Right One In. Tinker has no extra bridges from beginning to end. There are a lot of details that are worth repeating. For viewers who are familiar with the story and the characters, those details are like treasures waiting to be found. But whether you miss the details or not, this should not affect the overall understanding. The plot is reasonable, the flashback clips, and the montage used to describe Smiley's thoughts are all arranged very accurately.
Details are what I like to ponder when watching movies. In any artistic creation, the success or failure often lies in the handling of the details, especially the film must be fascinating, and I tend to be distracted by mistakes in the details. Tinker's detailed handling in all aspects, whether it is the character's behavioral logic, the way of speaking lines, or the setting props, is almost perfect. Only in this way can it successfully create the gray atmosphere of the British in the 1970s, and make the audience more appealing. Addicted to it. Coupled with the appropriate performance of the actors, it is not an exaggeration to say that this is a film shot in the 70s. This drama has a sense of the times, but it does not fall into nostalgia. And the reason I say that the details are almost perfect is because if you have a sharp eye, you should see Tom Hardy's Tarr accidentally revealing the wig tape, although this is a small flaw that is not necessarily noticed on a big screen. La.
In addition to owing these controls to the director, I want to have something to do with the original author Le Carre. He used to be the spy of Mi5/6 and gave the crew a lot of valuable information. One time Gary Oldman was interviewed and said that Guillam asked Smiley why he hadn’t mentioned Tarr to him in a short conversation. Smiley answered in the script manuscript, but Le Carre said that this kind of thing should be self-explanatory, so in the last film, there is no answer. The audience listened to Guillam's self-question and self-answer, and they also understood their kind of keeping secrets for a living. No one can believe it. Lonely life.
Alfredson is a director who likes and makes good use of silence. He knows how to leave blanks. The motion and motion are clearly and appropriately shot. In Tinker, many characters face each other and silence. One second is too much, and one second is too little. I don't know if this is the artistic nature of the Nordic people? It seems that the directors of the Nordic department have always had this style. Last year's Drive was also a Nordic director, with a similar feeling of blank space. Even the buildings in Northern Europe are neat and clean.
Tinker's handling of emotions is of course restrained. This is not only a group of people who use self-control as a defensive weapon, but also British people who are already very cautious. And because of this, a few succinct emotional expressions - Tarr talked about Irina's wet eyes; Guillam cried silently at the sacrifice of personal love; Smiley, who was unsmiling, looked at his wife who was swinging with the music and smiled, and stumbled a few times because of her. Wait - it's more powerful.
Speaking of which, let’s talk about the shining cast.
In fact, I still can't find a sufficient way to describe how I admire the Gary Oldman version of Smiley's performance (fans' idiot behavior is exposed). Gary's Smiley is low-key and restrained, but the inner emotions are still overflowing, which complements the cinematic style. Another point is that a British film critic said that this version of Smiley can really make you believe that he can marry a woman like Anne in order to imagine Smiley kissing people. At that time, I felt that the film critic (a woman) must be Gary's NC fan. Of course, everyone who has read the book knows that Smiley does not look good at all, and it seems that he has never grown better, so neither Gary nor Alec Guinness are so good-looking, haha. (Is this a negative comment? Not at all!!)
Empire Magazine is right. Smiley is indeed an "anti-movie" protagonist. He is very low-key and reticent. The characters who are quietly restrained can read wonderfully in the novel. The on-screen presentation is really not an easy role to play. Gary has to use very few expressions, and not many lines to interpret everything about this character-his will, loneliness, coldness, and enthusiasm for his wife, etc., he is also responsible for (quietly) pushing The story goes on.
Smiley's most exciting scene in this movie is when he recalled a meeting with Karla, his Soviet opponent. The director decided not to use the flashback method, but to shoot this very dramatic one-man show. The camera is pressed tightly on Gary’s face, watching him narrate alone, from time to time completely falling into the memory (this scene is simply too enjoyable to watch on the big screen), just like Karla sitting opposite him, jumping out of the memory from time to time, objective Looking at myself at the time, the atmosphere is condensed. In this section, apart from the shot scheduling, there are no other film skills, that is, an excellent actor completes a perfect performance, worthy of being selected as the best scene of the year by Empire magazine.
Audiences who don't know the Tinker story itself may not understand at the beginning of the movie, why would the old man Smiley come back for this important task. But slowly, you have to start paying attention to him, and you can definitely see from his dialogue reaction that he is a shrewd and cautious, cruel and powerful character when necessary. No wonder he has always been the second top spot in the round field. As Gary described, his Smiley highlights the cruel side of this character.
As the movie progresses, after the investigation begins, you can feel the vitality of Smiley slowly returning. Everything is not very obvious, but there are definitely traces to follow, and when recalling the fragments, there are also different levels of him in the past and the present, a distinct low-key. At the end of the movie, with Le Mer's abrupt but appropriate music, we see Smiley return to glory, and see the spirit and determination in his eyes.
Among the supporting roles, I was most impressed by Mark Strong, who played very bitterly Jim Prideaux. This role is the most developed of all the characters. Benedict Cumberbatch's Guillam and Tom Hardy's Ricky Tarr shared all the "action scenes", one introverted and the other excelling. Cumberbatch calmed down and felt ideal and enthusiasm. Hardy's scene is the most romantic. When he came to Smiley, he looked like a wounded little animal, and he could see how lonely and sad these spies were on the move. Both of these two roles provide the emotional tension of the young people in this play. It also allows the audience to imagine whether Smiley, Prideaux, etc. have been so enthusiastic and brilliant when they were young.
Bill Hydon of Colin Firth has sly eyes flashing from time to time, and it seems that it’s really hard to refuse his words when smiling at someone. It’s the arrogant flower butterfly! Several key scenes are very exciting, but not clichéd. There is still a sense of gentleman of his class. Toby Jones is also one of my favorite actors. He played Alleline with small nose and small eyes this time, and he was still as competent as I expected, very much in line with my imagination. Master John Hurt had just a few scenes. At the beginning, he and Smiley looked at each other, then bowed his head and walked away silently. It was really heartbreaking. Just a few eye contact, you know that they are closely related.
It's a pity that Ciarian Hinds has too few scenes. David Dencik is completely unfamiliar to him. In the end, he played the scene of Esterhase and Smiley on the tarmac, with teary puppy eyes, so cute (Hey...).
The Russian female intelligence agent is very competent, beautiful, and sad. I can’t say that it surprises me too much, but there is nothing wrong with it.
Finally, we must mention Kathy Burke, who has already retreated behind the scenes, especially for this scene. (It is said to be directed at Gary, who played Nil By Mouth directed by Gary and got the Cannes film queen.) Her role as a retired researcher is too brilliant. The loyalty was sacrificed as a result, but it can be vaguely seen that the strength of years of round-field experience is as strong as Smiley who has just retired has the same feeling. However, in her loneliness, there is a feeling of relief. It may be that she has always been outside the circle, different from Smiley. In this movie, I'm very satisfied just by seeing her and Gary play against each other.
This is not a movie that everyone will like, and it is easy to have polarized evaluations. Those who fall in love are in love with it, and those who do not love may vomit it miserably. There is nothing to impose on the greens and radishes. I personally love its distinctive style. After watching it in the theater for the first time, I discussed it with the one in my house for a long time, and even a few days later, I was still chewing on a few scenes that made my eyes clear. This movie really has stamina. Because the first time I saw it was a special screening, there is still some time before the official theater is released. There will be a month in between! It was really difficult, and I have been looking forward to seeing it again in the theater. When I watched it for the second time, I couldn't be compared with the first time, but the enjoyment was still there. I will come up from time to time to listen to music, then officially released on DVD, etc., must be received!
PS film version vs edition album
before watching the movie, even before I extremely appreciate the director Alfredson shot Let the Right One In, it I'm sure of his talent, I'm still a little worried. Not to mention whether he can surpass the album version, will he become an imitation? However, after watching the movie, I admire Alfredson's five-body cast. He was able to shoot a work that maintains the spirit of the original and is extremely original. Not only did it not copy and imitate the previous work, but it didn't change the angle because of the difference. He was not tied to death by the book, but he was very loyal to Jingsui.
Movies cannot truly restore reality. However, a good movie can make the audience believe that the environment being shaped in front of them is real. Both the movie version and the album version are very successful in this regard, and the two versions are established separately, completely in line with their respective styles. Putting the movie version of the actor's performance into the album version is a bit out of place, and vice versa. The album version of Alec Guinness’s Smiley is in line with the nostalgic sadness of the album, while the film’s Gary Oldman version fits the solemn and powerful atmosphere of the film.
The original text is transferred to my blog
http://snowyi.wordpress.com/2012/01/20/review-tinker-tailor-soldier-spy-movie/
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