Alfredson has been faithful to the complicated plot of the original. The many twists and turns of this two hour telling of the story may send audiences running back to re-read the original novel after seeing the film to figure out what really went on. It's the early 1970's at the height of the Cold War and the British Intelligence service has discovered there is a "mole" somewhere at the top of its ranks. After a disastrous action in Budapest that makes up most of the film's opening scenes the head of the service, Control, played by John Hurt, and his right hand man, George Smiley, are thrown out of MI6. But it quickly becomes apparent that the Budapest mission went wrong because of betrayal at the top. So Smiley is called out of retirement to find the betrayer. From here the ploy becomes increasingly complicated as Smiley tries to hunt down the mole from the array of suspects at the top of the secret service. This gives a chance for some superb characterizations from Toby Jones as the "tinker", Colin Firth as the "tailor", Ciaran Hinds as the "soldier", and David Dencik as the "poor man". The "spy" of the novel's title is of course Smiley himself. Firth as Bill Haydon, the handsome seducer of Smiley's wife, gets the top role after Oldman.

Audiences who blink will miss the appearance of Russian star Konstantin Khabensky who received international visibility with the in the Russian scifi movies Night Watch and Day Watch. Here he is cast as the Russian spy Polyakov which we seldom see although we do hear his voice. Svetlana Khodchenkova, the other Russian in the film fares better. One of Russia's most popular actresses the beautiful Khodchenkova gets plenty of screen time.

Alfredson who scored an international hit with Let the Right One In has gone for a meticulous period look that recreates early 1970's London in precise detail. What was the height of the latest technology in computers and phones at the spy headquarters, known as the Circus, serves here to give the film its dated look. Alfredson builds atmosphere with both lighting and sets and gives the whole film a spooky, shadowy, atmosphere. The BBC has plans to re-release the old TV series on DVD in the supermarkets so it will be interesting to compare what was made as essentially a contemporary production with Alredson's evocation of the period, not only its look and style but its values and mentality.

Credits:

Director: Tomas Alfredson

Screenwriters: Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughan, based on the novel by John Le Carre

Director of photography: Hoyte van Hoytema
Production companies: Working Title Films, Paradis, Kinowelt
Cast: Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Konstantin Khabensky.

UK, Germany