“Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,” 15 January 2012 (2011), theater. Third of the year, third in the theater. First time in a long time. We both enjoyed this slow, tense, atmospheric piece, where character, dialogue, acting, and story line carry this John LeCarre story/film in an ambiguous world of grey people and deceit. Gary Oldman as George Smiley (reprising the role done so brilliantly by Alec Guiness in 1979), the old spy who is charged with finding a mole in The Circus (MI5 or is it 6?). Who has betrayed his country, his friends?. Excellent work by real actors. So funny to see this a few days after MI3. The complete opposite in how to think of these things. Oldman vs Guinness is an interesting question, given how much I associate the latter with Smiley’s character and loved the production. They’re completely different. Oldman burns beneath the surface while remaining outwardly opaque. Guiness’s Smiley was more personally defeated, more war weary than Oldman. Both are well-played works by real actors. The supporting folk here are very good, genuine, and look like real people as opposed to actors in most American movies. See this film.