rich man, poor man, beggarman, thief

[kaydeefalls]

Saw "Tinker Tailor" today. ♥_♥ I'm fond of the book, and the movie does an EXCELLENT job condensing the plot and keeping it moving. I feel like it was very obvious that Haydon was the mole, but I'm not sure if that's because I knew it going in or because, well, Colin Firth vs. three character actors no one's ever heard of. (Okay, yes, I'm familiar with both Ciaran Hinds and Toby Jones, but still.) But that's besides the point. Love that they kept the Haydon/Prideaux [sub]text; want young!Bill/Jim fic quite a lot now please, fuck why wasn't this movie released a month earlier so that I could have requested it for Yuletide. And they deliberately queered Guillam, too, which I'm pretty sure is NOT from the book, but was awesome anyway. (Oddly enough, in the book I got the strong impression that Haydon was sleeping with both of the Smileys; not so much in the film.) The cinematography was brilliantly ugly, in the best way possible -- this is such a gray, petty world; no wonder men like Smiley prefer playing constant mind games rather than actually living in it. And, wow, way to take an absurdly attractive cast (Firth, Oldman, Cumberbatch, Hardy...) and make them all as unattractive as possible, between the gray and the the unforgiving camera and the horrible horrible '70s haircuts.

By pure coincidence, I read a Sherlock/Inception crossover fic with Eames recruiting Sherlock onto a job right before seeing this movie. So watching Benedict Cumberbatch beat the snot out of Tom Hardy made me LOL just a little bit.

They definitely need to film more of the Smiley series with this cast. I definitely need to read more of the Smiley series first, though.

And because clearly the universe is pleased to give me Benedict Cumberbatch today, Sherlock series 2 clips. I AM SO EXCITE.

...and speaking of Gary Oldman and Tom Hardy, new Dark Knight Rises trailer. My fandoms, they have so many overlaps.

Comments

[lutamira]

TTSS is so good, right?! And we have matching posts today! (In which I talk about TTSS and then squee over Cumberbatch/BBCSherlock clips!)

The cinematography was brilliantly ugly, in the best way possible

And I called it gorgeous. But I'm pretty sure we are talking about the exact same thing. :)

[kaydeefalls]

Ha, we do indeed! And, yes, we're definitely talking about the same cinematography. So beautifully gray and isolating. :)

[rosaw]

I am so jealous. I want to see Tinker Tailor but it's not even in my STATE! I am so...unsurprised, really but sad and it's just maddening. I hope it gets nominated for something so that it will come *some*where near me.

And, while I have read the book, I didn't read your spoilers. Was everyone wonderful?

[kaydeefalls]

I don't get why it has such a limited release -- it's only playing at the arthouse movie theaters in DC. :/ But oh, yes, everyone is wonderful. (And it's not the sort of film that needs the big screen and speakers to do it justice -- it'll translate fine to DVD, if you can't see it before then.)

[skywaterblue]

I also really enjoyed it. I thought I recalled that the Guillam was from the mini-series, because I have the weirdest strong memories of seeing that scene as an impressionable young queer person. (Though a quick google of a TTSS fanblog reveals the memory lies!) And I think it balances out the negative implications of Haydon/Prideaux.

The friends I went with hadn't seen the original and apparently had no clue he was the mole. I thought it was obvious from the posters, but...

Anyway. I LOVED the final scene. I hope they do make a sequel.

[msilverstar]

In defense of the 70s, in many places that time was bright and shiny! And whatever you think of Disco, it was not grey.

[kaydeefalls]

In the film, the grayness is more a reflection of a very particular socio-political aspect of the era. There is no Disco in the Circus. :)

[msilverstar]

Makes sense, a carryover from the post-War deprivation in the UK, and definitely part of Le Carre's ambiance. Just funny to think of that and Peter Max co-existing!

[kaydeefalls]

There's no reason for Guillam NOT to be queer -- his sexuality is not an integral part of his plot arc, but it adds such a wonderful layer to his characterization this way. And Prideaux is such a strong, moral character that I don't think his implied [sexual] relationship with Haydon carries negative connotations in that sense. If anything, Haydon's bisexuality is what bugs me -- like it's another aspect of his two-faced nature.

The way they built up Karla also gives a lot of leeway for a sequel. Here's hoping!

[via_ostiense]

Thanks for the Sherlock link. My enthusiasm for s2 is whetted!

[kaydeefalls]

You're very welcome!