Hoffman 1

Evan Hoffman

Mr. Husband

World History

28 May 2020

Cold War espionage was very important in that era. It was all about getting an upper

hand on your enemies and trying to win this war. That’s where Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy comes

in. This is a skin-creeping, twisting-turning, uncompromisingly cerebral and grave record of

John le Carré's cold war undercover work novel, adjusted for the screen by Peter Straughan and

the late Bridget O'Connor. Gary Oldman plays the despairing spy George Smiley, brought out of

his mortifying retirement and accused of uncovering a Soviet mole in the upper compasses of the

higher administration.

Might it be able to be Alleline (Toby Jones), Haydon (Colin Firth), Bland (Ciarán Hinds),

Esterhase (David Dencik) – or another person? Like Michael Corleone mulling over Fredo's

awful character, Smiley's face is a veil of frosty assurance. He is additionally smothering

passionate anguish. One of these men has sold out to him man by man.

The movie opens in Turkey with an undercover agent getting “killed” by the KGB in

search of a mole in MI5. This then leads us to C (the leader of MI5) stepping down along with

George Smiley, his right hand man. After they leave, Smiley is brought out of retirement to try to

finish the job the undercover couldn’t. Throughout the film, we, as the audience, learn he hasn’t

died, but he, instead, is living out of a camper van and teaching at a private school. This then
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Evan Hoffman

Mr. Husband

World History

28 May 2020

leads to Smiley, through clever planning, tracking down where the mole will meet the Russian

operative to take the secret files about England’s war plans. This shows a short glimpse into one

event that happened amidst the Cold War.

Overall, through the articles I have seen, I noticed that although it is based on a true story,

there are some dramatic and “Hollywood” moments. The accurate moments of the film were a

lot of the scenes and settings. From Google Images, I could find that from the bricks on the

buildings to the extra’s attire were all accurate when in the proper country. The characters'

names, as well, were all accurate to their real life counterparts. Although, the movie also has its

flaws. Some scenes were incredibly dramaticized and very extra. Some explosions and gunshots

seemed a bit much and not accurate to the “spy” theme throughout. They better told the story to

someone who was ignorant about the topic, and the action certainly helped. They helped the

story go along smoother with quick transitions to keep the ball rolling.

I do not think the artistic choices of the filmmaker do a disservice to the truth. The story

was very accurate, and I, as the viewer, even fact checked the movie as I went along with it.

Even while the movie lasted 2 hours and 7 minutes exactly, it fit months into it in clear cut and

perfect order. No scenes or moments seemed confusing and nothing was made “Hollywood style
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Evan Hoffman

Mr. Husband

World History

28 May 2020

extra.” The story is told beautifully from very experienced actors who you could tell took the

time to get into character and play the proper role. Overall, I think the truth in storytelling is very

crucial especially when it is in an import era in history. It is better to learn from mistakes in

history and to never repeat them for the sake of human lives, economical standpoints, and ethical

reasons.
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Evan Hoffman

Mr. Husband

World History

28 May 2020

Work Cited

Sinclair, Andrew. “Cambridge Five.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 May 2020,

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_Five.

IMDB, IMDB. “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 16 Sept. 2011,

www.imdb.com/title/tt1340800/.

Kariger, Brian, and Daniel Fierro. “The World's Favorite Online Thesaurus!”

Thesaurus.com, 2020, www.thesaurus.com/.

Alfredson, Thomas, director. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy. Netflix, Warner Bros., 2011,

www.netflix.com/title/70202128.