 |
| John le Carre (1931-2020) |
The recent death of John le Carre has garnered a lot of retrospective consideration of his works, and I feel that I'd be remiss if I didn't join in. I've read most (if not all) of his novels, and I've seen many adaptations of his work (more on these to come). (C has read about as much, as well.) There is something about the grittiness of le Carre that draws me into his work. Of course, there's intrigue, although surprisingly little violence (although nasty enough when it appears). Le Carre studied people in situations, sometimes in committee meetings, sometimes at gunpoint. But his granular lens is always focused on the characters. Of course, this can also make for wonderful adaption to the screen if done well (and it often wasn't). But there is one set of exceptions beyond question: the BBC productions of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Smiley's People, both starring Alec Guinness as Smiley and both staffed with a terrific supporting casts. I haven't changed my opinion about this; indeed, C & I watched both series again this year during pandemic confinement. I've lost track of how many times I've watched these two series, but I don't tire of them, they're so nuanced.
For a thoughtful reflection on the many incarnations of George Smiley--foremost of which are now those of Guinness and Oldman, but which has also included James Mason--and for contrast with Ian Fleming's (and later imitators) James Bond, read this article by James Parker in the December 20011 issue of The Atlantic.
 |
| Guinness: My favorite Smiley |
 |
| A great supporting cast, especially Bernard Hepton (far left) and Ian Richardson (next to Hepton) Hepton was even better in Smiley's People. So to honor le Carre and to indulge in a walk down memory lane of my own, here are some of my earlier blog posts concerning le Carre. And if you must, skip the posts and read and watch le Carre's works. |
John LeCarre: Our Kind of Traitor
No comments:
Post a Comment