Martin Ritt’s The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965)—an adaptation of John le Carré’s novel of the same name—is an exceptional spy thriller with a psychological bent. A genre-breaking film as far as espionage films were concerned, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold offered a completely unique perspective pertaining to the modus operandi of spies. At a time when James Bond films had painted a very bright, facile, almost ludicrous picture of spying, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold succeeded in limning a far more realistic one.
With his espionage novels, le Carre added a whole new dimension to the Spy genre. In his conscious attempt to present spies that appear closer to the real-life, le Carre penned down plausible caricatures that lacked charm, romanticism and heroics of Ian Fleming’s James Bond. His espionage artists lived routine boring lives plagued by hardships of a common man, kind of anti-Bonds that just couldn’t be confused with the larger-than-life persona of a superspy like 007. And the beauty of Martin Ritt’s film is that it remains true to le Carré’s vision. The story is largely plot driven with reasonable scope for character development as far as the major characters are concerned but without an iota of sex and very little action… whatever action that is presented appears to be quite realistic and seems to go well with the movie’s plot.
It is widely considered that Ritt’s The Spy Who Came in From the Cold redefined the Spy genre the same way Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey redefined the Sci-Fi genre… a few years later. The movie starts off with a slow pace but it soon picks up pace and the tension starts to grow with each passing second. And the viewer who would have felt at home in the early going would suddenly start to feel the noose tightening on him. And the tension may get released after the viewer has witnessed the final scene but what the viewer has experienced would continue to haunt him for a long time to come.
Richard Burton’s mesmerizing performance adds great value to the movie. Like a true chameleon, Burton right from the onset ceases to be himself as he effortlessly conjures up his alter-ego—a toughened, distrustful, all but defeated English spy named Alec Leamas. The Spy Who Came in From the Cold is absolutely brilliant from start to finish and it doesn’t merely fulfill the needs of the espionage fans but also exceeds their expectations by some margin. Highly Recommended!
Originally published here:
http://www.apotpourriofvestiges.com/2013/09/the-spy-who-came-in-from-cold-1965.html
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