Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John Le Carre is considered to be a classic novel in English literature. It was a tough feat to adapt it in a film and it seems like the heavy responsibility on the shoulders of the scriptwriters was paid well and the film became a smashing hit when it was released back in 2011.
Screenwriter Peter Straughan along with the late Bridget O’Connor did this painstaking job of writing the screenplay for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
“When we got the final edit, it was like, think this is great, but I don’t think anyone else is going to go and see it because it’s supposed to be a spy thriller and it’s just people talking all the time”, stated Peter Straughan.
Director Tomas Alfredson stated that “I remember it was quite tough to polish it.” He further added “It was a big, rough, grey block of stone quite late into the process until we got it shining. I think it was a very happy process, the prepping and the shooting. But the editing was bumpier.”
The film received accolades and awards around the globe and the director and the writer are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the release of the movie while reminiscing the days when it was originally released.
The plot is very exposition-heavy as well as dense. It is about a mole who is working inside a secret service and his adventures.
“We did feel the scariness of that because everyone kept telling us that!” laughs Straughan. “The bar was ‘don’t besmirch the family name’.”
“But I think when I read the book I saw it was a lot about a lonely man carrying secrets and the lonely mess that goes with it. That was the emotional value that I felt I could connect with. The rest I had very good help with, filling in the blank spots,” stated the director. He further added “I think I was quite open with everyone involved that this was not my special interest or my special area.”
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was released in September of 2011 and went on to win two BAFTAs awards for best British film and best-adapted screenplay. It was also nominated for the three Oscars.
