Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by R Browne (A) on December 19, 2011 at 23:33:24

In Reply to: RE: The New Yorker said it suffered from, of course, severe compression into 2 hours. posted by tinear on December 19, 2011 at 09:06:22

If you're a fan of the book and the original Alec Guinness miniseries you may be a bit disappointed. The major flaw is the overambitious attempt to tell the story in 127 minutes. The last 20 minutes or so in particular seems very rushed.

What it does do well is to create a visually gloomy atmosphere of the place and period in muted colors where the sun seems never to shine. The cast is good and up to the task at hand. Seeing Gary Oldman as George Smiley will make you feel...old. Nevertheless, I recommend seeing it with the reservations stated above. It was the only film of interest to me amongst the nine other offerings at the multiplex I visited.