Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Screenwriter

I have a soft spot for Le Carré and I went to see Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy with certain trepidation. The reviews were good, but not universally so, and adaptations can be dire – especially of good books and even more especially of good books that have already been adapted into a much-loved TV series.

Famously, Le Carré has compared adapting his novels with turning a rhinoceros into an oxo cube.

Gary Oldman looks moody in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

So what’s it like?

Well, TTSS turns out to be just what I expected, moody and evocative in a neo-romantic way. At least as I use the term. Neo-romantics are less concerned with classically constructed plots, and interwoven subplots, than with mood. The plot and subplots are there, but not the most important thing in the movie.

The movie is watchable, even gripping despite (or perhaps because of) its resolutely deliberate long-held shots (at last a filmmaker who doesn’t need to cut like it’s MTV!)

The film is set in the 1970s – as was the novel. However the novel (and TV series) were contemporary fiction. By keeping the same period, the movie is set in the past.

This has allowed some reviewers to criticise it for being irrelevant today. I’m not so sure. The contemporary relevance was clear for me but not hammered home – essentially it’s about betrayal of trust, corruption and courage.

There was no attempt to say “look how this compares to 2011″ but an intelligent audience would get the point.

However, the movie fell short of greatness. At their best Le Carré’s books pack a surprising emotional punch at the end – which is largely down to a deep involvement with the characters. Here, the mood was all – and somehow the screen characters never got the extra oomph that they did on the page, so the final whammy never quite hit home.

And you don’t get involved in the detective story as participant so much as detached observer – there is little chance for the audience to evaluate the suspects for themselves. Same reason, not enough character development.

It’s not easy fitting a novel into 127 mins.

Having said that, the time flew by, the style and mood were the point and while I usually hate films where that’s the case, in this instance I thought it was justified.

Monet rather than Velasquez, if you see what I mean.

Yet still one of the best movies around. Recommended.

Writing Tip For Creating Rich and Surprising Characters

There are many ways to develop exciting characters, characters who move the reader and the audience and who come to life on the page.

Sometimes they just come to you, fully formed, and sometimes they are needed but refuse to come to life whatever you do.

I’ve got many ways that I use when I’m stuck, some wonderful tools for character development that I’ve picked up over the years. Here’s a very simple method which can have very profound and surprising results.

A picture says a thousand words

Step One:

I cast my character using photographs.

The process is very similar to casting for actors, only it’s simpler and you don’t need a casting suite (or even a casting couch – sorry). You just need pictures.

I cull my photos from everywhere and anywhere. My most fruitful source is often colour supplements from newspapers. Magazines are also good. And you can search out pictures on the Internet, printing off any you like.

I gather all the pictures I can find, cutting off any reference to who the people really are, and I choose the ones that seem to have resonance for me.

They may not relate to the real character at all. A policeman in my script may be brought to life by a pic of an actual policeman – or a Brazilian footballer! The trick is not to be too prescriptive – as with a real casting the fewer preconceptions you have the more you are likely to find someone who brings a new and surprising element, as well as truth and freshness.

Step Two:

Once I have cast my picture, I talk to it.

Or to be more precise, I speak as the person in the picture, in the first person, answering questions and describing my life, my attitudes, my feelings, anything relevant.

You can do this out loud or on the computer – you can interview the character yourself, or get a friend to help you. There’s no need to act or take on an accent, but do try to get into character and see the world through his/her eyes.

The key, as always, is to focus on what they feel about things. This will unlock their heart.

I recommend the method – it really works. I now cast almost every part and pin the pictures up on the wall when I work.

It frees me up enormously to get into character and see – and feel – how they speak and act.