Thelma Adams: Novelist, Critic, Oscar Expert

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BBC Tinker, Tailor, Solder, Espied

September 16, 2011 By Thelma 1 Comment

tinker tailor soldier spy, John LeCarre,Oscar,Gary Oldman,BBC

Guinness in a bowler hat nod to Magritte

The movie version of John Le Carre’s deeply twisted spy novel, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy will premiere in the U.S. on December 9th. It’s already garnering early Oscar buzz for Gary Oldman in the Alec Guinness role of George Smiley, and Colin Firth stepping into Ian Richardson‘s polished brogues as Bill Haydon.

Last night, I intended to watch the first installment of the 1979 seven-part BBC series with my husband — starting with “Flushing out the Mole.”  It was like eating Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies. We couldn’t consume just one, but we stopped at two so that tonight we could return and hopefully make it last at least until Saturday.

My husband and I are part of a small but proud minority who are addicted to BBC mysteries. Give us Inspector Lewis, Poirot, Miss Marple, the new Sherlock Holmes, Midsomer Murders, Rebus, and we are at peace, sheltered from our earthly cares. The three cats cluster around us on the couch, purring. My hand snakes out to find my husband’s. We do not get up, and down, and answer the phone, or attend to the children’s interruptions, because we’re both riveted to the sofa: ah, BBC mysteries.

We have both read LeCarre’s novel — my husband rereading it recently. And, still, it takes an act of faith to watch the mini-series and trust in Le Carre, aware that we will be baffled anew by the complicated, Cold War intrigue of internal politics within the British secret service and the existence of a mole at the highest echelons of MI6.

And, so, the early response to the Hollywood movie from Focus Feature that it is confusing confounds me. Isn’t that the point? To be sucked into a world where nothing is at it seems, where men in proper ties and overcoats are ultimately as unknowable and surreal as figures in a Magritte landscape? I will see the film at an early press screening the week after next, and report back. But the misdirection and perplexity is precisely the point: this is not James Bond,  flamboyant actions at a casino and flashy blonds with funny names. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is the antithesis of the children’s nursery rhyme from which it derives its name: this is an intellectual puzzle. Le Carrre is the chessmaster. You may work out bits, you will surely be delighted in the moment, but the ending should come as a kick in the head.

(the entire series is available from Acorn, $49.99; the sequel, Smiley’s People, is also available.)

Filed Under: Books, Criticism, Movies & TV Tagged With: Acorn, Alec Guinness, BBC seven-part TV series, Cold War, Colin Firth, Espionage Thriller, Gary Oldman, Ian Richardson, MI6, Movie, mystery, Oscars, Soldier, Spy, Tailor, Tinker

Oscars 2012: Best Actor First Look

September 15, 2011 By Thelma 1 Comment

OK, we’re just out of Toronto (at least I am). It’s a crap shoot as to who will make the best actor shortlist — but it’s not as much of a crap shoot as it was a week ago. This is going to be one very hot race. So, let’s start off with the shoe-in:

1. George Clooney, The Descendants

2. Brad Pitt, Tree of Life or Moneyball

3. Jean Dujardin, The Artist

4. Woody Harrelson, Rampart

Woody Harrelson,Robin Wright,Cynthia Nixon,Ben Foster,Oren Moverman,James Ellroy,Hot sex,The Messenger

5. Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar

And don’t forget:

6. Michael Fassbender, Shame

7. Gerard Butler, Machine Gun Preacher

8. Dominic Cooper, The Devil’s DoubleDominic Cooper,The Devil's Double,Best Actor,Oscars 2012

9. Paul Giamatti, Win Win

10. Gary Oldman, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

11. Ryan Gosling, Drive or The des of March

12. Tom Hardy, Warrior

 

Filed Under: Celebrity, Movies & TV, Oscar Race Tagged With: Brad Pitt, Dominic Cooper, Drive, Gary Oldman, George Clooney, Gerard Butler, J. Edgar, Jean Dujardin, Leonardo DiCaprio, Machine Gun Preacher, Michael Fassbender, Moneyball, Oscar Race, Oscars 2012, Paul Giamatti, Rampart, Ryan Gosling, Shame, Soldier, Spy, Tailor, The Artist, The Descendants, The Devil's Double, The Ides of March, TIFF11, Tinker, Tom Hardy, Toronto International Film Festival, Tree of Life, Warrior, Win Win, Woody Harrelson

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