John le Carré died recently, so I decided to watch the movie adaptation of his "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy", having missed it when it got released. I haven't read the book, but now I'd like to. The movie makes clear that intelligence and espionage are gritty fields. Despite there being protagonists and antagonists, no one's really a good guy; there are shady things going on everywhere.
It's one movie that really grips you and leaves you shaken. I recommend it to everyone. In addition to Gary Oldman (in an Academy Award-nominated performance), it stars John Hurt, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Tom Hardy and Toby Jones. To put that another way, it stars Winston Churchill, Adam Sutler, George VI, Dr. Sivana, Bane and Truman Capote.
In conclusion - to riff on the Rolling Stones song that incorporates the nursery rhyme from which the novel got its title - dandelions don't tell no lies.
PS: Right before the US invaded Iraq, le Carré wrote an article titled "The United States of America has gone mad". He may have only been known as an author, but he clearly had a political consciousness.
It's one movie that really grips you and leaves you shaken. I recommend it to everyone. In addition to Gary Oldman (in an Academy Award-nominated performance), it stars John Hurt, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Tom Hardy and Toby Jones. To put that another way, it stars Winston Churchill, Adam Sutler, George VI, Dr. Sivana, Bane and Truman Capote.
In conclusion - to riff on the Rolling Stones song that incorporates the nursery rhyme from which the novel got its title - dandelions don't tell no lies.
PS: Right before the US invaded Iraq, le Carré wrote an article titled "The United States of America has gone mad". He may have only been known as an author, but he clearly had a political consciousness.