Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is the story of the hunt for a Soviet mole high within the ranks of the British Intelligence Service.  The film is an adaptation of a novel written in 1974 by David Cornwell.  Cornwell didn’t have to look far for inspiration for this novel.  He was an MI5 agent whose identity was given to the Russians by double agents, including one very high-ranking member of his service.

The very first thing I noticed as the film started was the cinematography.  In the world of sharp, bright, HD where you can practically count the hairs on an actor’s arm, this movie has a distinct grey and vintage feel.  It has a film grain filter applied, that makes the movie look like it was filmed in the 70’s or 80’s.  Since the story takes place in the 70’s, the effect really adds to the feel of the movie.  The acting is superb.  While most of the characters are stiff and flat, they give the occasional glimpse of raw emotion that shows beneath their dignified fronts are normal men. 

The storyline is incredibly complex, and uses flashbacks to tell much of the story.  Today most directors don’t use inference to communicate important and/or subtle plot details.  This movie is one of the rare exceptions.  Nearly everything in this movie is subtle.  It feels as if you blink, you will miss something important.  I believe that it is going to require a second viewing to catch all the subtleties.  The movie isn’t like most modern spy movies.  There are no high-speed chases, running gun battles, exploding buildings etc.  The movie is strictly intellectual, and I feel is a better story because it is so different.

If you want to go to the movies and just be entertained, this movie is probably not for you.  This movie requires focus and to intuitively understand the character’s actions.  If you like a good intellectual movie, this film definitely fits the bill.  I give it 9 / 10.  

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

How a movie with sex, rape, forcible sodomy, nudity torture, mayhem, violence, dismembered people and animals, drug and alcohol usage, was able to get a R rating instead of NC-17 is beyond me.  Now normally I would say that all these things are a cheap way to drag people into the seats for the shock factor only.  But not so with this movie.  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is based upon the first book in the trilogy by Stieg Larrson.  There is already a Swedish version of this film made in 2009.  I’ve not read the books, or seen the original screen adaptation, although it and its sequel have been in my Netflix queue for months.

The story is that of the brilliant hacker Lisbeth Salander, played by Rooney Mara, and journalist Mikael Blomkvist, Daniel Craig, as they work together to try and solve a decades old murder.  While the movie is told with Mikael as the main character, it is Lisbeth who is the real heroine, and total bad ass, to the story.  After being sued for libel and loosing, Mikael is discredited and financially ruined.  He is approached by a billionaire and asked to investigate his family to try and determine who killed his great niece back in the 1960’s. Mikael agrees and hires Lisbeth to assist.  Along the way the pair delves into the entire family’s sordid secrets.

I’m not a huge fan of mysteries because I usually predict the ending within the first half of the movie.  To my pleasant surprise, that was not the case here.  The movie is full of twists, turns and red herrings. At over 2 and a half hours, the movie is very long...however it doesn't feel like it.  The pacing is perfect, and kept me riveted the whole time.  The performances by the main characters, and even the supporting characters, were excellent.  I expect to see several Academy Award nominations for this film.  The beautiful Rooney Mara, has already been nominated for a Golden Globe.  She will be up against competition like Viola Davis (The Help).  I do not think she will win, since she is nude in the movie, and in close competitions, the movie with nudity usually looses; but at least her performance was strong enough that they recognized it despite the nudity.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.  Much like Black Swan, it has a real dark feel to it, but is an exceptional story.  I would highly recommend you see this film, but DO NOT let your children watch it. In fact, I would discourage letting teenagers watch it.  I give it a 9 / 10.