Having premiered at Venice to rave reviews and with early UK reviews now steadily being streamed out, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is becoming one of the year’s biggest Oscar contenders. It will certainly be the film to beat at the BAFTA’s this year, with many talking about Gary Oldman as the man to be in the next in line for Best Actor. With that in mind, a lot of promotional material is being released for the film, particularly focusing on Oldman.
This new featurette is all about the character of Smiley, with the assembled cast waxing lyrical about the character and Oldman himself. For those who have read the book, Smiley is a fascinating character, an atypical spy. Think of James Bond and then imagine the opposite. He is an old man, grey, restrained and fearsomely intelligent.
He is much more of a shrinking violet, who goes unrecognized, a proper spy. Not James Bond, who is more like a soldier and makes his presence known to everyone. What is special about Smiley is that in the book he isn’t a man who sticks out from the crowd. He’s completely unremarkable, but brilliant. Personally that’s the kind of spy I want.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy will be released on September 16th in the UK and December 9th in the US. You can watch the featurette below.
