John le Carré’s spy novel “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” has been adapted into a film starring Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy and Colin Firth, amongst others. Have a look at the character profiles before its U.S. release.
John le Carré writes subtle, thinking-man’s spy fiction. There’s no Ian Fleming double agents with licenses to kill nor the adrenaline rush theatrics of a Jason Bourne. He is more Graham Greene and Rudyard Kipling than anything else.
The nearest film analogue might be Robert De Niro and Eric Roth’s underrated spy film “The Good Shepherd.” And Richard Burton, of course, starred in the film adaptation of “The Spy Who Came In From the Cold.”
Now le Carré’s “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” gets a big-screen adaptation by Tomas Alfredson (“Let the Right One In”) starring a number of great character actors including Gary Oldman, Ciarán Hinds, Toby Jones, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy and Mark Strong. The book and film are heavily influenced by the real events involving Kim Philby and the Cambridge Five Spy Ring, who were Soviet agents placed in the highest echelons of MI6.
It’s currently in theaters over in the UK and will be in select U.S. theaters on December 9th.
Have a look at the character profiles over to Apple.
Gary Oldman’s character George Smiley is below to get you started.
