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Alynda Wheat, People: OUTSTANDING (cg) "Firth, Toby Jones and Mark Strong make beguiling spies, but Oldman's performance, as a sad, lonely relic rallying to do his duty one last time, is the most resonant. Doubters will say the film feels dated, but for the rest of us, it's vintage spycraft." (Read the full review...) 118 words, 12/08/11 Mary Pols, Time: OUTSTANDING "...so elegant, deliberate and smart that it's a shocker it got made.... the kind of film that asks you to sit with it a while and to pay attention.... Oldman has been waiting for a part such as this for years. He makes every second on screen count." (Read the full review...) 830 words, 12/09/11 Christy Lemire, Associated Press: VERY GOOD (cg) "...a precisely detailed, retro-faded, well-acted mystery. But director Tomas Alfredson's created a mood in this tale of Cold War espionage that may be a bit too chilly, a tension that may almost be too restrained." (Read the full review...) 467 words, 12/08/11 Mara Reinstein, Us Weekly: VERY GOOD (cg) "One rule for seeing this thriller: Don't lose focus.... it's a challenge to track the twists and myriad characters... [but] the film culminates in a gratifying gotcha moment." (Read the full review...) 60 words, 12/08/11 Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: EXCELLENT (cg) "...a captivating intellectual puzzle... At times it's enthrallingly clever and subtle; at others it's borderline incomprehensible.... this may be the rare case in which not always being able to tell what's going on becomes part of the film's texture..." (Read the full review...) 380 words, 12/02/11 Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: OUTSTANDING (cg) "Oldman gives a performance that is flawless in every detail.... a tale of loneliness and desperation among men who can never disclose their secret hearts, even to themselves.... easily one of the year's best..." (Read the full review...) 299 words, 12/09/11 Claudia Puig, USA Today: VERY GOOD (cg) "...superbly rendered.... traffics in a suspenseful world of ever-watchful loners, reminding us that details matter." (Read the full review...) 355 words, 12/09/11 Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com: VERY GOOD (cg) "I confess I was confused some of the time and lost at other times; the viewer needs to hold in mind a large number of characters, a larger number of events and an infinite number of possibilities." (Read the full review...) 789 words, 12/16/11 Kat Murphy, MSN Movies: OUTSTANDING (cg) "No one in 'Tinker Tailor's' cast, a pantheon of British heavy-hitters, sets a foot wrong. Firth manages, masterfully, to thin his omnivorous charm and good looks, exposing terrifying emptiness beneath. Mark Strong especially surprises... But it's Oldman whom Oscar should reward." (Read the full review...) 875 words, 12/02/11 James Berardinelli, Reel Views: VERY GOOD (cg) "...may be the best possible movie version of the story, but it illustrates that the big screen is not the ideal medium for a tale of this complexity." (Read the full review...) 1,019 words, 12/05/11
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: OUTSTANDING "...superb.... this is a movie you watch on high alert... It brings you into the state of mind that can feel like a state of siege and goes by the name of British secret service, or just the Circus." (Read the full review...) 1,056 words, 12/09/11 Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: EXCELLENT (cg) "...there are no big explosions, CGI effects, or otherwise outrageous set pieces here. There don't have to be. The biggest thrill is in finding an antidote for every soul-sapping, wallet-busting, production-line [movie] you sat through in 2011." (Read the full review...) 289 words, 12/09/11 Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "...deliciously, thrillingly, brilliantly complex.... a film to which very close attention must be paid, but the rewards of doing so are considerable.... The spy trade doesn't get much more exciting than this." (Read the full review...) 923 words, 12/09/11 Kyle Smith, New York Post: OUTSTANDING (cg) "...no film this year left me hungrier for a sequel." (Read the full review...) 787 words, 12/09/11 Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: OUTSTANDING (cg) "...superb.... one of the finest achievements of the year..." (Read the full review...) 634 words, 12/16/11 Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: OUTSTANDING (cg) "A smart, cool, compelling spy-thriller with top-notch performances and a surprisingly powerful ending." (Read the full review...) 381 words, 12/23/11 David Edelstein, New York Magazine: EXCELLENT "It's a treat to be back in Le Carré's world... His subject was the national character and what happened to it under threat and in the absence of public scrutiny. It could hardly be, mutatis mutandis, more contemporary." (Read the full review...) 816 words, 12/12/11 Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD (cg) "I confess I was confused some of the time and lost at other times; the viewer needs to hold in mind a large number of characters, a larger number of events and an infinite number of possibilities." (Read the full review...) 789 words, 12/16/11 J. Hoberman, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD "...brooding, fluidly crafted.... Gary Oldman's Smiley is less agonized nerd than Asperger brainiac..." (Read the full review...) 442 words, 12/07/11 Peter Howell, Toronto Star: OUTSTANDING (cg) "Oldman's Smiley is every bit as fastidious as the estimable Guinness model, but more weighed down by secrets. He's a walking eulogy for the death of good intentions, each scant word he utters seeming like a dying man's last." (Read the full review...) 431 words, 12/16/11 Rick Groen, Toronto Globe & Mail: OUTSTANDING (cg) "...thanks to Tomas Alfredson's direction, a taut screenplay, and a uniformly brilliant cast, the film retains its contemporary relevance, doubling as a crisp reminder that the ethical ambiguities of today's geo-political climate are hardly new..." (Read the full review...) 814 words, 12/16/11 Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT (cg) "...a sleek and expertly acted period thriller..." (Read the full review...) 204 words, 12/15/11
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: VERY GOOD (cg) "...a film that feels both streamlined and appropriately stodgy. It's a 1970s story told in 1970s style, an unrepentant un-reboot so old school that it feels subversively new." (Read the full review...) 635 words, 12/16/11 Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD (cg) "...even if you get lost - in the spyspeak, in the codes, in the comings and goings of grim-faced men with satchels full of documents they should not have - 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy' is worth getting lost in." (Read the full review...) 537 words, 12/23/11 Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: OUTSTANDING (cg) "...radically -- superlatively -- condenses John Le Carré's classic novel... The film is intellectually exhilarating, but too rarefied for many viewers." (Read the full review...) 463 words, 12/23/11 Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: EXCELLENT (cg) "Everyone is good -- Firth is a star, of course, and Hardy is always great. But Oldman's performance is amazing -- particularly considering that he doesn't say anything until about 20 minutes in and doesn't say a whole lot after that." (Read the full review...) 598 words, 12/23/11 Ty Burr, Boston Globe: OUTSTANDING (cg) "...what Oldman does as the British intelligence expert George Smiley is an acrobatic feat of minimalism.... this isn't a story of national glory or saving Western Civ but of finding a traitor in a world full of traitors and of damning a man who has already damned himself." (Read the full review...) 961 words, 12/16/11 Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: VERY GOOD (cg) "Careful and contained... not a movie for fans whose only reference are the 'James Bond' films (or, worse, the 'Bourne' pictures). There are no amazing stunts, or dizzying edits, or breakneck car chases. There isn't even a fistfight." (Read the full review...) 595 words, 12/09/11 Amy Biancolli, San Francisco Chronicle: OUTSTANDING (cg) "...faithful to the original in all the necessary ways: in the crisp unfolding of its elaborate plot; in its evocation of the Cold War era... with its unhurried exactitude; in its grand chessboard of characters... and, most of all, in its protagonist..." (Read the full review...) 361 words, 12/16/11 Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: OUTSTANDING (cg) "...unfolds like a chess game.... a film that stays with you long after it's over." (Read the full review...) 446 words, 12/23/11 Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: EXCELLENT (cg) "...a roster of substantial actors has breathed life into Le Carré's pantheon of spooks, blowhards, politicians, snakes, and deep thinkers, creating a rich, vivid and thick film." (Read the full review...) 399 words, 12/23/11 Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: OUTSTANDING (cg) "...a well-crafted film that wears its old-fashionedness with pride." (Read the full review...) 301 words, 12/23/11 Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: GOOD (cg) "Admiring the movie is easy; embracing it isn't.... boldly dull in protest to modern movie tastes, and that alone may earn it more praise than it deserves." (Read the full review...) 498 words, 01/05/12 Tom Long, Detroit News: OUTSTANDING (cg) "...a daringly smart film that challenges you to pay attention to its many fine details while satisfying mightily." (Read the full review...) 321 words, 01/06/12 Connie Ogle, Miami Herald: VERY GOOD (cg) "...a deliberate, cerebral, grim and utterly absorbing film that makes covert operations appear as unsexy as the 'Bourne' films made them seem fast-paced and thrilling." (Read the full review...) 666 words, 01/06/12
J. Hoberman, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD "...brooding, fluidly crafted.... Gary Oldman's Smiley is less agonized nerd than Asperger brainiac..." (Read the full review...) 442 words, 12/07/11 Eric Eisenberg, Cinema Blend: EXCELLENT (cg) "...pays off with scorching performances all around, unrelenting atmosphere and a gripping mystery that will engage you to the end." (Read the full review...) 576 words, 12/09/11 Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: OUTSTANDING (cg) "Director Tomas Alfredson re-creates the '70s without nostalgia but with all its pervasive ennui and disillusionment.... He demonstrates shrewdness both in his condensation of the text and his deviations from it." (Read the full review...) 577 words, 12/15/11 Keith Phipps, AV Club: OUTSTANDING (cg) "...channels the author's atmosphere of unceasing suspicion, overlapping alliances, and moral decay with such admirable precision, theaters would need only to pipe in cigarette smoke and the rattle of a failing Eastern Bloc HVAC system to make the experience immersive." (Read the full review...) 601 words, 12/08/11 Stephanie Zacharek, Movieline: OUTSTANDING (cg) "...the movie's intricacy, and the way it finds its way into the emotional lives of its characters via (and not in spite of) that intricacy, is what makes it extraordinary." (Read the full review...) 1,174 words, 12/08/11 Andrew Schenker, Slant: OUTSTANDING (cg) "What makes 'Tinker, Tailor' such an effective piece of work is not only its understanding that the major world players are virtually interchangeable, but its forceful presentation of this fundamental ambiguity via a coordinated wash of sickly browns and yellows and the slow accretion of atmospheric details that build into a palpable ethical unease." (Read the full review...) 807 words, 12/03/11 Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT (cg) "...a sleek and expertly acted period thriller..." (Read the full review...) 204 words, 12/15/11 Curt Holman, Atlanta Creative Loafing: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "It's fortunate that 'Tinker Tailor' works so well as a mood piece, because the plot can be dizzyingly dense. Audiences may need to watch it once for its atmosphere and a second time to appreciate how all the pieces fit together, which is a lot to demand of a viewer." (Read the full review...) 316 words, 01/04/12 MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher: OUTSTANDING (cg) "...drops us right into the middle of the action and trusts that we are smart enough to keep up even if we don't know any of the characters' names or, frankly, what the hell is going on." (Read the full review...) 917 words, 09/22/11
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: OUTSTANDING "The manifold pleasures of this remarkable film are cool, but intense.... It turns on the presence of Mr. Oldman, an actor of great experience and accomplishment who has finally found a film that fully deserves him." (Read the full review...) 670 words, 12/09/11 Manohla Dargis, New York Times: OUTSTANDING "...superb.... this is a movie you watch on high alert... It brings you into the state of mind that can feel like a state of siege and goes by the name of British secret service, or just the Circus." (Read the full review...) 1,056 words, 12/09/11 Ella Taylor, NPR: OUTSTANDING "The screenplay, by Peter Straughan and his late wife Bridget O'Connor, is debonair. Director Tomas Alfredson's mastery of tone and ambiance is flawless. The bloodletting is brief and necessarily appalling, the comedy mordant..." (Read the full review...) 707 words, 12/08/11 Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "...deliciously, thrillingly, brilliantly complex.... a film to which very close attention must be paid, but the rewards of doing so are considerable.... The spy trade doesn't get much more exciting than this." (Read the full review...) 923 words, 12/09/11 Dana Stevens, Slate: VERY GOOD "Alfredson creates a world that's so gloomily atmospheric -- not just the beautifully chosen sets and locations, but the smoky quality of the air and the echo of staticky radios in musty rooms -- that not quite knowing what's going on starts to seem like part of the point." (Read the full review...) 788 words, 12/08/11 Andrew O'Hehir, Salon: OUTSTANDING "...chilly, marvelously acted and gorgeously composed..." (Read the full review...) 1,490 words, 12/08/11
Leslie Felperin, Daily Variety: EXCELLENT "...turns hero George Smiley's hunt for a mole within Blighty's MI6 into an incisive examination of Cold War ethics, rich in both contempo resonance and elegiac melancholy." (Read the full review...) 1,270 words, 09/05/11 Deborah Young, Hollywood Reporter: EXCELLENT "...one of the few films so visually absorbing, felicitous shot after shot, that its emotional coldness is noticed only at the end, when all the plot twists are unraveled in a solid piece of thinking-man's entertainment..." (Read the full review...) 902 words, 09/05/11 Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "...deliciously, thrillingly, brilliantly complex.... a film to which very close attention must be paid, but the rewards of doing so are considerable.... The spy trade doesn't get much more exciting than this." (Read the full review...) 923 words, 12/09/11 Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: EXCELLENT (cg) "...an intelligent espionage thriller... both thematically and visually absorbing.... so meticulously constructed and well acted that you actually need to be attentive throughout the movie experience." (Read the full review...) 789 words, 12/07/11 Manohla Dargis, New York Times: OUTSTANDING "...superb.... this is a movie you watch on high alert... It brings you into the state of mind that can feel like a state of siege and goes by the name of British secret service, or just the Circus." (Read the full review...) 1,056 words, 12/09/11 Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: OUTSTANDING "The manifold pleasures of this remarkable film are cool, but intense.... It turns on the presence of Mr. Oldman, an actor of great experience and accomplishment who has finally found a film that fully deserves him." (Read the full review...) 670 words, 12/09/11
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