Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

[Thebumwhowalks]

Well no I did follow it the first time. But it's one of those movies that gets better with repeat viewings because you pick up on the smaller things.

Ok, I believe you, thousands wouldn't. haha

 

[Thebumwhowalks]

I don't get it. The plot is pretty damn straightforward. It's only hard to follow if you're only half paying attention, imo. I thought this was a brilliant movie, loved the atmosphere, performances, cinematography, all of it. And it didn't even feel slow to me, because the intrigue level was so high, and there were scenes I found so stressful I might as well have been watching an action thriller.

And btw, the praise is from people who HAVE seen it, I don't get where comments like "the praise is from people who hope it's good" come from, or even make sense. Obviously, the critics saw it. It's been out internationally for months. I've seen it twice and will definitely be seeing it again before it leaves theaters, because the 2nd time was twice as good as the first. Some people just think it's an awesome, near-perfectly-crafted movie. No need to make up flimsy excuses like for why it's receiving praise.

"I've seen it twice..." "The 2nd time was twice as good as the first.."

Now, I haven't seen the film, but going by all the comments regarding the 'hard-to-follow' plot, and taking onboard what you just said, it does suggest to me that you may have enjoyed it 'twice as much' the second time you saw it, because you didn't have to work as hard to follow the plot second time round.
Because, that is a rare thing for someone to say about a movie, usually they get the most enjoyment out of the first showing, obviously due to the uncertainty of following the twist-y plot lines.
Usually someone says they enjoyed the film more second time round, because they didn't appreciate it properly first time round.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

I still have to see this movie, but is this another "Inception" situation in which people make it harder to understand than it really is or is this movie legitimately confusing?

Oh I just think that it's an overrated piece of self important boring tripe. I'm not comparing it to any other film.

It was legitimately confusing to me and that is all that matters.

 

[Destructus86]

Why do people always bring up Inception as "overly complicated"? It's really not....I thought it was a straight forward film.

 

[The Morningstar]

I don't know how anyone can say Inception is overly complicated. Considering the amount of expositionary dialogue explaining everything.

 

[bullets]

All you had to do for Inception was pay attention. Still a good movie.

I just found out Tinker, Tailor , Soldier , Spy is playing at a local theater

 

[Mrs. Sawyer]

Why do people always bring up Inception as "overly complicated"? It's really not....I thought it was a straight forward film.

It is. People tend to make Inception look way more confusing than it is and I was like "It wasn't confusing at all"

As JP once said "Incpetion is an example how stupid some filmgoers are."

 

[Doctor Jones]

Disagree. The fact that Inception grossed a lot of money said that the audience actually likes these types of films. The GA isn't stupid either. It just depends on what's appealing. Inception happened to be one of those films that as smart and the GA liked.

I hate throwing the GA into a category because they happen to love action films that aren't deemed "good" by people on the internet.

 

[RKO]

I didn't find anything overly complicated about this film. It is a very subtle film though, there's a lot of fill in the blanks and up to the viewers imagination type story-telling. It's all about following the story and paying attention.

 

[flickchick85]

"I've seen it twice..." "The 2nd time was twice as good as the first.."

Now, I haven't seen the film, but going by all the comments regarding the 'hard-to-follow' plot, and taking onboard what you just said, it does suggest to me that you may have enjoyed it 'twice as much' the second time you saw it, because you didn't have to work as hard to follow the plot second time round.
Because, that is a rare thing for someone to say about a movie, usually they get the most enjoyment out of the first showing, obviously due to the uncertainty of following the twist-y plot lines.
Usually someone says they enjoyed the film more second time round, because they didn't appreciate it properly first time round.

I can see where you're coming from, but for me it wasn't about understanding it better, it was about the little details that are better appreciated once you know what's what. I had no trouble following it the first time, but all sorts of little glances and shots that you pay no mind to the first time are given so much meaning the 2nd time. Noticing all the little touches are what made it better the 2nd time around.

There are certain movies where I find new things to appreciate on even the 4th or 5th viewings. It's not about needing that many viewings to understand them fully, just about appreciating the attention to detail and care that the filmmakers put in to bring the story to life. Also, I posted my love for the movie in this thread after the first time I saw it, too, so it obviously didn't require two viewings for me to follow or enjoy. I just loved it so much I wanted to see it again. Just like Drive, which I saw 5 times and also loved a little more each time.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

I didn't find anything overly complicated about this film. It is a very subtle film though, there's a lot of fill in the blanks and up to the viewers imagination type story-telling. It's all about following the story and paying attention.

And once again I'm a dumb ass.

 

[SuperSoldier985]

the movie itself isn't complicated---it just had a really jumbled narrative structure and editing style.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

Well time for me to exit stage left. I didn't care for the film so it's silly to continue to argue about it much longer.

 

[SuperSoldier985]

I hope you're not talking to me because I didn't love the movie either...and it's because of the reasons I just mentioned--It looked great, I liked the acting, I liked the score, but I really didn't like how it was structure and I didn't like how it was organized and how they edited scenes together...that is, aside from the scene in the library.

 

[kane9321]

loved the movie...actually saw it twice

 

[Mrs. Sawyer]

Disagree. The fact that Inception grossed a lot of money said that the audience actually likes these types of films. The GA isn't stupid either. It just depends on what's appealing. Inception happened to be one of those films that as smart and the GA liked.

I hate throwing the GA into a category because they happen to love action films that aren't deemed "good" by people on the internet.

Not downing them for loving action movies. Inception I found to be pretty simple. I'm just ribbing on people who didn't understand it.

 

[craigdbfan]

Finally got around to watch this movie and I thought it was absolutely terrific.

First of all I found it to be very much engaging and while a lot of spy movies tend to be relatively cold this movie wasn't. I don't even know how people perceived it that way. There was a ton of emotion and humanity to these characters who were involved in a profession and field that requires one to leave such feelings at home.

I found that aspect of the movie quite subtlety delivered. I was hooked from the minute the movie started and I enjoyed that it took its time in giving us the information behind the mole and the leaked information through a non linear narrative. Thought that worked quite nicely.

There were a couple things in which you had to be paying a bit close attention and that had nothing to do with the mole plot as that was fairly easy to follow but rather the relationship between a couple of the men. Specifically between Haydon and Prideaux. That was very subtlety conveyed but also not impossible in anyway to catch as to what was going on between them if one had been paying attention to the markers that are dropped throughout the film.

George Smiley was a very subdued and mellow fellow on the front but was teeming with feelings in the inside which were filtered to good act as an increasingly apt metal (mole) detector. Ricki Tarrs little sub plot was pretty great as well and Hardy did the most that he could with the small role but certainly proved to be quite the valuable asset to Smiley. Although I was sad that he never really found out about Irina, they were a cute couple but stuck in the midst of a bloody covert battle which made for a normal relationship practically impossible.

There's a bunch of other stuff I liked about the movie but I really thought it was very well made and the performances were really quite incredible. It's sort of a shame that this movie isn't getting more recognition this award season but that hardly matters I suppose. The movie definitely isn't for everybody but personally I can't relate to those who found it "difficult" in following the main mole plot and more importantly the relationship between the men in the Circus.

Great movie. 10/10

 

[hopefuldreamer]

Just tried to watch it last night...

Now granted, I was tired... But I thought it was incredibly boring and I also found it very difficult to figure out what was going on because of the way it flipped between timelines and also because it was difficult to connect 'who's who' when a character was talking about someone...

So I fell asleep, and when I woke up I saw an ending that made no sense to me because I thought the beginning showed Firths character alive when Strong's character was killed...

And who was the kid in the glasses who kept going to Strong's caravan? Was that supposed to be Oldman's character as a kid?

Pfft, I dunno... I might try and watch it again, but TBH I just wasn't a fan of the incredibly slow pacing and dialogue that was totally unengaging.

The only thing I felt was good, was that it had this clear style and atmosphere that was certainly different from any film I'd seen before. Especially all the lingering shots and people's eerie stares.

 

[craigdbfan]

The chubby kid wasn't Smiley as boy .

Don't over think it to much when you're watching the movie. It's fairly straight forward.

The only thing that I can see throwing people off is the non linear narrative but just try paying attention to that aspect. As long as you know what and when these scenes are taking place the plot itself is very easy to understand.

 

[hopefuldreamer]

Yes but how can you know what and when the scenes are taking place. Everyone looks the same age at each timeline (sometimes there are slight differences, but not clear), there is nothing within the scene that indicates where we are in time...

I don't usually get thrown off by a non linear narrative, but then there are usually more indicators available for your brain to latch on to.

Plus, it's hard to follow where you are in the films timeline, when you have no idea what's actually going on.

I mean, I don't even get what happened to Strong's character. Why was he shot? And was Oldman then called in to investigate his death, or is he looking for something else?

And what the hell did Hardy's character have to do with it? He just came out of no where and I couldn't tell who he was or how he was connected.

And what's with the chubby kid then?

But hey, maybe all that would have been answered if I hadn't slept through half of it

 

[moviedoors]

It was dense, but I didn't think it was impossible to understand the first time through. It's not Primer. I was able to follow along through to the end. I went in with my game face on. You've got to go in ready to immediately remember what name went with which face. It also takes about half an hour to really acclimatize to how the movie doles out information, but that's fine. I like having to work for it a little bit.

I can't wait to see it again. Any great movie, mystery or not, will play differently once your brain is free not to worry about the plot as much. Having "what happens" out of the way automatically opens you up to focus on other aspects more intently.

 

[hopefuldreamer]

Ironically, I loved Primer and yeah it's timelines are confusing, but I at least knew the basic plot of the film and the character relationships.

I think your right though, about approaching it with focus and trying to commit characters and facts to memory.

Screw it, I'm gonna try again. It did have a cool eerie tone and I was over tired!

 

[flickchick85]

See, I found Primer to be a hell of a lot more confusing (and slower) than this.

hopefulsuicide, if you do see it again, a couple of tips for keeping the timeline straight: 1.) First, let's get the obvious outta the way: Control (John Hurt) dies in the beginning, so any later scenes involving him are flashbacks. 2.) Smiley gets new glasses in the opening sequence. Therefore, any later scenes involving the old (ugly orange) glasses are flashbacks.

And some of the lingo:

-The Circus: MI6
-KARLA: Top Soviet intelligence officer. The one they're all kind of obsessed with, and they don't even know what he looks like.
-Gold or Treasure: Extremely valuable intel. The kind of intel that can make a career.
-Chicken Feed: crap intel
-Witchcraft: Percy Allaline's (Toby Jones) top secret source in the Kremlin. They never meet directly with him, but with a messenger.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Not downing them for loving action movies. Inception I found to be pretty simple. I'm just ribbing on people who didn't understand it.

With Leo strut included?

 

[hopefuldreamer]

See, I found Primer to be a hell of a lot more confusing (and slower) than this.

hopefulsuicide, if you do see it again, a couple of tips for keeping the timeline straight: 1.) First, let's get the obvious outta the way: Control (John Hurt) dies in the beginning, so any later scenes involving him are flashbacks. 2.) Smiley gets new glasses in the opening sequence. Therefore, any later scenes involving the old (ugly orange) glasses are flashbacks.

And some of the lingo:

-The Circus: MI6
-KARLA: Top Soviet intelligence officer. The one they're all kind of obsessed with, and they don't even know what he looks like.
-Gold or Treasure: Extremely valuable intel. The kind of intel that can make a career.
-Chicken Feed: crap intel
-Witchcraft: Percy Allaline's (Toby Jones) top secret source in the Kremlin. They never meet directly with him, but with a messenger.

Cheers, that'll actually be really helpful. For one thing, I thought Karla was a girl

And I did not pick up that John Hurt's character died at the beginning. That at least explains some things I was confused about!