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TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY

Tomas Alfredson recreates the ennui and disillusionment of the '70s in which John le Carré's spy tragedy takes place, relating a complex tale with cold efficiency. Control (John Hurt), head of the British intelligence branch called the Circus, sends a veteran operative behind the Iron Curtain to determine whether a Soviet mole has infiltrated the agency. The mission ends in a debacle, and Control and his second in command, George Smiley (Gary Oldman), are sacked. But new information turns up and the government recalls Smiley to investigate his old department. Alfredson masterfully balances tone and tension, and the impeccable cast, starting with Oldman, revives this Cold War parable for a new generation.

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