John le Carré makes us care about what secrecy does to people. We recommend his screen adaptations, with one reservation: following the plot can sometimes take attention away from the people who make it matter.
Fi1m perspective
Alec Guinness gives so little away as George Smiley in Smiley’s People (1982) that we have to watch him closely. That restraint suits le Carré’s interest in loyalty and the personal cost of keeping secrets. Simon Langton directs, with le Carré and John Hopkins writing the television adaptation of his novel. For stretches, simply keeping track of the investigation takes attention away from the people. Guinness keeps the effort worthwhile.
The novels established that approach well before these adaptations: The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963) made his reputation, and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1974) began the Smiley/Karla trilogy. His self-effacing protagonists suited stories in which institutions could betray their own people. He went on to post-Cold War subjects, including the novel The Night Manager (1993). On screen, the question is how much of the unease survives the demands of a thriller.
Tomas Alfredson’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) preserves it by making intelligence work look like a job nobody knows how to leave. Gary Oldman’s stillness as Smiley keeps our attention on a man who offers little reassurance. Loyalty between colleagues matters as much as the official business of the Cold War. The film is tense and absorbing, but its compressed chronology sometimes has us sorting out events when we should be worrying about people.
We were moved by The Constant Gardener (2005), because Ralph Fiennes’s Justin Quayle has to reconsider his marriage as he investigates pharmaceutical corruption. Fiennes and Rachel Weisz give the film the feeling that an investigation alone could not supply. Director Fernando Meirelles and screenwriter Jeffrey Caine keep both the marriage and the conspiracy worth following. The film’s African characters deserve more attention, however; its concern for Justin does not excuse giving them less.
The Night Manager (2016) is lighter on the divided loyalties we expect from le Carré. Susanne Bier’s direction makes persuasive entertainment of David Farr’s adaptation, and Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie are a pleasure to watch assessing one another. We can decide whom to trust too readily, while the supporting characters seldom acquire enough independence. It is thoroughly enjoyable, but we recommend Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy first, provided there is no objection to doing some work.
Biography
John le Carré, the pen name of David John Moore Cornwell, was a British writer. He was born on 19 October 1931 in Poole, Dorset, England, and died on 12 December 2020.
He wrote numerous espionage novels, several of which were adapted for film and television. His credits include the novels for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979 series and 2011 film), Smiley's People (1982 series), The Constant Gardener (2005 film) and The Night Manager (2016 series). He is also credited as creator and writer on the 1982 series Smiley's People.
