it's been pretty quiet around here?

[lirazel]

So I want to host a comment fic-a-thon again. But these things tend to work better when there's some sort of theme to them. The Bechdel Test one was well over a year ago--anyone interested in reviving that? Or, if not, we could do crossovers or three sentence limits or something along those lines. Anybody have any thoughts? Anybody have any VERY STRONG feelings about not having something right now? Do these things tend to work better when they go up on a Friday and the we have the weekend to write? Basically, I'm lj-booooored and I want to do this, so give me some feedback, please. Even if it's just to say that you'd be interested or that you're super busy right now and can't possibly participate in anything even this low-key.


Also, I saw Tinker Tailor Sailor Spy last night, and I think they need to change the title to Everyone Has Really Bad Hair. Incredibly well-acted and directed, and whoever did the production design deserves an Oscar, but, like Roger Ebert, I sometimes felt lost and that I was missing out on important details. A quote:

I have every confidence that in this film, every piece of information is there and flawlessly meshes, but I can't say so for sure, perhaps because I don't have a mind suitable for espionage. I enjoyed the film's look and feel, the perfectly modulated performances, and the whole tawdry world of spy and counterspy, which must be among the world's most dispiriting occupations. But I became increasingly aware that I didn't always follow all the allusions and connections. On that level, "Tinker Tailor" didn't work for me.

I still think it was a very enjoyable movie experience and I don't regret seeing it, I just feel like I'll have to watch the movie six more times (or, more accurately, read the book which I've tried to read twice and couldn't get very far into) in order to pick up on everything.

In closing, all spy movies should be set during the Cold War. The end.

Comments

[uwsannajane.livejournal.com]

I know the book very well indeed, so didn't have any trouble during Tinker, Tailor, aside from the occasional moment of mild distraction when they made a big change to plot or characterization - which appeared to be done either to save time and to add emotional depth (a funny thing to say about a film in which almost all expressions of emotion are brutally suppressed, but after all, the emotions are still there).

My control group was my husband, who doesn't know from George Smiley but who is very attuned to the language of film. He did fine, but even he didn't guess the mole until very late in the movie (whereas to me it seemed blindingly obvious). I can easily see that it would be tricky for a lot of viewers.

The thing about the book is, Le Carre isn't everyone's cup of tea. The writing is dense and sometimes just as confusing as the movie. I'm very fond of his Smiley novels, but you shouldn't drive yourself crazy trying to get into them!

Back to the film ... The story is told largely in flashbacks, but it's not always easy to tell when you're in the present and when you're in the past. A couple of things that help: any scene that John Hurt's in, after the first one, is a flashback, and Smiley's glasses are different in the past and present - you see him buying new ones right after Control's downfall.

You could also read a synopsis with spoilers (there's one here (http://cinesnatch.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-spoilers-tinker-tailor-soldier.html), for instance, which is pretty thorough although the prose is glutinous). After all, you've already watched the movie once, and it's not like you'll know more than someone who's read the book.

Bonus trivia - the sentence "I feel seriously under-fucked" was originally said to John Le Carre by W. H. Auden.