Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
How do you find an enemy who is hidden right before your eyes?
George Smiley, the aging master spy of the Cold War and once heir apparent to Control, is brought back out of retirement to flush out a top level mole within the Circus. Smiley must travel back through his life and murky workings of the Circus to unravel the net spun by his nemesis Karla 'The Sandman' of the KGB and reveal the identity of the mole before he disappears.
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| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 16 September 2011 |
| Genre | Drama, Thriller, Mystery |
| Director | Tomas Alfredson |
| Starring | Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Tom Hardy |
| Runtime | 127 min |
| Rated | R |
| Scores | Rotten Tomatoes (average) 7.8/10 · Rotten Tomatoes 84% · Metacritic 85/100 · TMDB users 6.6/10 |
| Budget | $30 million |
Where to watch Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
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Rent or buy
You can rent or buy Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy on Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube and Fandango at Home.
Where to watch Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy in 6 other countries
| Country | Streaming on (price a month) |
|---|---|
| Austria | Netflix €10.99 |
| Canada | Prime Video $9.99 CAD |
| Germany | Netflix €15.99 |
| Japan | U-NEXT ¥2189 JPY |
| South Korea | Watcha |
| Switzerland | Netflix CHF14.90 |
Subscription, free and ad-supported services we track; prices where Binge Boss has a price list for the country. "About" marks a price the service bills in another currency, converted at the day's rate. All countries as data.
What kind of watch this is
George Smiley, the aging master spy of the Cold War, is dragged back from retirement to find a high-level mole within the Circus. He must navigate the murky politics of his former colleagues to uncover the net spun by his nemesis, Karla. Directed by Tomas Alfredson, the film runs 127 minutes and leans heavily on atmosphere over action. It is a quiet, cerebral thriller where the tension comes from who is watching you, not who is chasing you. The enemy is hidden right before your eyes, making every casual conversation a potential trap. It demands patience, but rewards it with a puzzle that tightens as it goes.
What the critics said
Rotten Tomatoes sits at 84% as of October 2024, while Metacritic lands on 85 out of 100 as of August 2025. That is solid ground for a spy thriller. Jonathan Romney of The Independent wrote, "The script is a brilliant feat of condensation and restructuring." David Gritten of The Daily Telegraph declared the film "a triumph." James Parker in The Atlantic found this Tinker Tailor adaptation "problematic" compared with the 1979 BBC mini-series. You can admire the craft and miss the soul in the same breath.
How it did with audiences
The film spent $30 million to make and collected $78 million worldwide. That is a solid return, not a blockbuster, but enough to keep the lights on at the studio. On TMDB, users rate it 6.6 out of 10. It found its people.
What came next for the cast
Gary Oldman moved from The Dark Knight to Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Tom Hardy went from Inception to Mad Max: Fury Road. Colin Firth stepped out of The King’s Speech into Kingsman: The Secret Service. The credits list what happened; they do not prove the spy film caused it. Sometimes a role just opens a door, and the actor walks through it.
Where it left its mark
Critics have spent a decade deciding where to slot it. Ali Arkan ranked it among the top 10 films of the 21st century in a 2016 BBC poll. Keith Uhlich placed it ninth for the 2010s in 2020. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian called it the magnum opus of Le Carré adaptations. By 2021, Radio Times deemed it a great contemporary British film. Stephanie Zacharek added it to a 2026 list of underappreciated movies, noting it was a blessing for adult viewers. That last point is the real point.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
Sources
- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q681962 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (film)” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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