My Thirtieth Year: 40

You might get tired of my movie-themed posts... I can't apologize. I so rarely indulge in theater-centered movie watching. I watch movies at home, on TV, and generally go to a theater two or three times a year. I consider it a huge treat when I get to go sit in a darkened room and watch the light and shadows dance on the screen.

This week I was treated to a viewing of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - for which Gary Oldman received a Best Actor nomination at this year's Academy Awards (TM). I had read the John LeCarre novel back in November and really enjoyed the way the plot, which [SPOILER] revolves around the many threads of past events, kept my attention so very engaged. There is a lot going on for a story that really doesn't have the bells and whistles (or gun fights and bomb blasts, if you will) of a typical thriller.

It's a violent movie - which seems ironic to me, a distant observer of the Cold War, which by it's name alone seems to indicate a bloodless war. Maybe it is too easy to forget why tensions ran so high, that more than international bragging rights were on the line. You really do get the sense that in a time of phone taps and double agents, something really important was happening behind the scenes. The only trouble with this movie? They don't really spell out what was so important. And maybe that has to do with our postmodern sensibilities that don't always care to draw a line in the sand. And I sensed some of that in LeCarre's novel. Or better yet, the moral ambiguity that comes with playing both sides of the coin.

Fair warning, unless you are already familiar with the plot, you will certainly be confused with the movie; there are long moments of silence, body language, and hanging clues that will leave you guessing... or racking your brain, "What is going on?" I highly suggest reading the book first... and then watching a marvelous set of performances from Gary Oldman, Benedict Cumberpatch, Colin Firth and a cast of fabulous British actors.