3 Mulligans

When a friend or relative highly recommends a film, I already want to like it. But the real reason I wanted to like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was that its trailer grabbed me when I saw it advertised. During the time between its theater run and its release on DVD I had heard and read so much about it, all on the positive side, building on an already high interest to see it and like it. But I didn’t, because I couldn’t catch any of what was going on. The Soviets, Hungarians, the Brits and the Americans. The plot, the flashbacks, the mole and who was gay with whom? The questions it asked added up to nothing. So at the risk of sounding dense and unable to grasp the finer things in the world of film, there you have it and there it is. At least I wasn’t the only one. Gayle also watched it. But she even went so far as to compare it to a bad James Bond film whose plot takes a backseat to the gadgets and action.