Note from the editors: Welcome to those of you coming over from Crooks and Liars. Glad to have you. Just need to ask you to read our Comment Policy. I don't know if this commenter came from C&L, but he/she is using a Typepad profile in a way that we'd rather people didn't, as a blind instead of as identity protection. I'm posting it anyway because it's a good comment and I hope whoever left it comes back and comments again. I became suspicious of the writing in this film when Oldman-as-Smiley tells Guillam the story of meeting Karla. At the beginning, Oldman does a great job of showing us that he is visualizing the encounter. And then...he tears up. George Smiley would never be overtly emotional that way. I knew the script was off the rails when Toby (fka "Esterhazy" now "Esterhouse" what's that all about?) starts crying "I'm loyal!" Compare that to the way Toby's character reacts in the BBC series: As soon as he realizes Smiley has him nailed, he smoothly switches his tone with "If there's anything I can do of a practical nature..." That's how spies behave. They don't burst into tears. Similarly, the closing scene of Smiley sitting at the big chair to applause...that is a complete misreading of Smiley's character. The visual beauty of the film, as far as I'm concerned, just brings the poor conception of the characters into greater relief.