REVIEW: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (15)

Everyone over a certain age knows "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" - either from the John le Carré novel or the tremendous television adaptation in which Alec Guiness played George Smiley, the central character in TTSS.



On the surface, it is, of course, a Cold War spy movie, but, with its web of secrets, lies, trust, betrayals, friendship, pacts and paranoia, it could be seen to be a mirror to the complexities in our modern society.

Tomas Alfredson's takes John le Carré's novel and presents it in a very clear shade of stone grey - it oozes tension from start to finish.

Gary Oldman takes the lead as George Smiley, a somewhat mild-mannered MI6 agent who comes out of retirement to try to uncover a mole in the secret British agency known as the "Circus". Vital information is being leaked to the Soviets and Smiley is the man chosen to track him down.

Oldman is outstanding in a measured and underplayed performance rather at tangent to his recent movies. Smiley is unassuming and watchful - the opposite of the Bourne/Bond template of spy to which movie audiences have become accustomed. Oldman will get plenty of nods come awards time, but the ensemble acting is tremendous, as is the atmospheric soundtrack.

REVIEW: Anonymous (12A)

There are probably more theories about who wrote the works of William Shakespeare than there are plays that bear his name. Anonymous adds to the conspiracy theory list by suggesting that Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford (played brilliantly by Rhys Ifans) actually wrote them but, because of his position in society, it was inappropriate for that fact to be known.



The movie is full of political intrigue and has some fantastic scenery and tremendous set-pieces. The conceit is maintained well throughout and the theory/fiction, depending on your point of view, is linked into history to make it enjoyably believable.


Vanessa Redgrave's frail and aging Queen Elizabeth I is tremendous - if Judy Dench can get an Oscar for her 8-minute portrayal of Elizabeth I in Shakespeare In Love then Ms. Redgrave is a show-in for one next Spring.

Shakespeare, himself, is initally portrayed as an illiterate buffoon by Rafe Spall before becoming rather more stute and making the most of the "situation".

For me, the outstanding performance was that of Sebastian Armesto (King Ferdinand VI in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides ) who took on the role of Ben Jonson the poet who the Earl of Oxford originally offers his plays to before Will Shakespeare.


Sadly, Sony, in their wisdom, have limited the release of Anonymous to 250 cinemas believing that the British public won't "get it" and will be put off by a movie about Shakespeare. I don't know whether this is a reflection of an idiotic business decision or an idiotic nation.


Definitely worth going to see.

REVIEW: The Debt (15)

John Madden's new thriller, The Debt, is a remake of an Israeli movie of the same name made in 2007. It begins with three retired Mossad agents in Tel Aviv in 1997. It is long way from some of his earlier films like Shakespeare In Love and Captain Corelli's Mandolin, but has, perhaps, the twists and turns similar to the Inspector Morse episodes he directed back in the early 90s.

The movie is double cast with one trio of actors playing the lead characters in the 1990s and another set back in the 1960s and the action leaps backwards and forwards over the time periods.



Rachel (played by Helen Mirren/Jessica Chastain) and Stefan (Tom Wilkinson/Marton Csokas) hear news of their former colleague David (Ciarán Hinds/Sam Worthington). The three have been celebrated in Israel since they undertook a mission to capture a Nazi war criminal (the so-called "Surgeon of Berkenau") in East Berlin.

The Break-InIldiko Kemeny, Eduardo Rossoff

The Cold War, the Nazi's Final Solution and the Israeli Secret Service come face to face in this engrossing thriller with the trio of agents putting themselves into jeopardy before telling their story. But is everything what it seems?

It is superbly acted, particularly by Chastain and Worthington who, between them, steal the show, as well as being well scripted and filmed. It is a must-see movie for anyone who likes their thrillers thoughtful.