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John le Carré’s landmark espionage tale remains a defining work of the genre. At the height of the Cold War, spymaster Alec Leamas has just seen one of his most trusted agents killed. Ready at last to abandon the service, he is instead drawn into a final, intricate scheme meant to topple his old adversary, Mundt, head of East Germany’s foreign intelligence apparatus. Leamas is only required to present himself as a whiskey-soaked cynic who is willing to betray his country - a role that comes all too naturally to a man who has grown tired of every trick in the trade. Yet two forces could unravel this cunning plan: the romantic resurrection of Leamas' long-extinguished idealism, or the dawning suspicion that he is a pawn, rather than a player, in someone else’s unforgiving game. David Eldridge’s adaptation and Jeremy Herrin’s meticulous staging capture the novel’s bleak, noir-tinged world with striking fidelity. Even the heavy burden of exposition, required to guide the audience through le Carré’s moral labyrinth, is handled with admirable clarity. What is more problematic is the love story. Rory Keenan embodies the embittered, hard-boiled operative with compelling precision, but his rediscovery of a soft-hearted, sentimental side strains credulity. Similarly, the speed and depth of commitment of young British Communist Party member Liz Gold to Leamas is never completely convincing. While Agnes O’Casey's portrayal of naive optimism may ring true for her political commitments, it simply doesn't resonate in her relationship with the world-weary spy. As a result, the final tragedy, in which love and idealism are crushed by the cold, amoral machinery of espionage, loses some of its power. That being said, this production is a deftly mounted, well acted dramatisation of one of the truly great literary spy stories. Admirers of the genre will find much to relish in this intriguing reimagining of The Spy Who Came In From The Cold.
Rated: ★★★
Reviewed by J.C.
Photo by Johan Persson
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