Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Here is your first look at the feature film adaptation of John le Carré’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, which is about a mole that lives at the circus. “Right at the top of the circus,” as this trailer suggests, which is the best place for a mole to be: He would have a great view, and never have to fear being trampled underfoot by all those clowns or elephants. Ha ha, we have fun here. Actually, the “Circus” in this case is the highest level of the Secret Intelligence Service, and the “mole” is a Russian plant, which is far less adorable. But what the film directed by Tomas Alfredson (Let The Right One In) lacks in cuteness it makes up for in cutthroat tension, as Gary Oldman’s George Smiley attempts to root out the double-crossing spy in the midst of an all-star and exceedingly British cast of actors like Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Toby Jones, John Hurt, and Benedict Cumberbatch, who counts as two British persons. This preview is all shadowy menace and sinister violin screeches, which is exactly what you want in a spy thriller. It still looks like a pretty fun circus.