gardening

I spoke to some people yesterday about the film Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and both of them said they didn’t really like it. both my mum and I really loved it though. I think the reason this happened is firstly because everybody goes to see a spy film with certain expectations of what should happen in a spy film. there should be fast-paced scenes to balance out the mystery scenes, etc. most of the people I know who’ve seen it haven’t read any of John le Carré before, so they didn’t really understand a) what was happening, or b) the style of his stories. I read a review somewhere that said it’s impossible to make one of his novels into a film, and TTSS proves it, which I agree with to a certain extent. however, after reflecting on it for a few days, I realised just how precisely-done it was in relation to the written story. le Carré has a very particular style to his writing in that it’s extraordinarily slow, drawn out, quiet, and dull. everything important happens underneath/behind the words on the page. some people might criticise the film for being those things, but I think it was handled incredibly well. the film was meant to be long, dull, and quiet, because that was the atmosphere of the story. that’s what it was like. his works are based on real events, and what I’ve always disliked about modern spy films is that they’re so… blockbuster. they’re so Hollywood, full of high-tech gadgets and explosions and impossible feats of physical skill, etc. this isn’t like that. this is how it was actually done. the best disguise is knowing how to disappear into a crowd, and this film is really a testament to that. it’s extremely subtle. there were some parts where I did get confused, admittedly, and the climax wasn’t as big of a climax as I thought it should be - but there’s that word again: “should”. what should anything be? the more I think about it, the more I love this film. I suggest it to people who are willing to accept that their preconceptions of spy films are going to be challenged. but more than this, I suggest reading John le Carré. he is really a spectacular writer.

(Source: junkyardfool, via nerdbynature)