I love Errol Morris and I love John Le Carré, so I’m biased, but this was a very engrossing documentary about the novelist's biography, told entirely from his perspective. The con-man father looms very large over Le Carré, even larger than his work in espionage for which he is known. It’s a revealing documentary, if not quite an unraveling of the whole man.

Really enjoyable. The documentary intertwines Cornwall’s life with the characters, plots, and themes of his works. A must see for any fan of the author.

Its a fascinating examination of Le Carre who was extremely perceptive of other people.

A little bit on the dry side, but very insightful into a compelling author.

I've always been a Le Carre fan. This documentary pulls the curtain aside to reveal the complex man behind his fascinating body of work.

Enjoyed reliving some of my favorite reads from early 80's.

For a nonbeliever like me, it was as if I met the God himself. I loved to watch it and plan to watch it again. I have been a fan of le Carre for the last several decades. Read every novel he wrote. Some of them at least three times. When in Germany as a tourist, near the portion of the wall that has been retained, I down loaded 'The Spy who came in from the cold' on my kindle (though I have an ancient copy of the book) and read it for the 4th time. The movie is extraordinary. A must watch. I wish le Carre was with us for at least as long as I don't kick the bucket.

Very Insightful And Enlightening Film Of The Mind Of A Real Spy -------------------------------- Directed by Errol Morris where the film explores the life and career of John Moore Cornwell (19 October 1931 – 12 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré. An English author, best known for his espionage novels, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963), The Looking Glass War (1965), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1974), Smiley's People (1979), The Little Drummer Girl (1983), The Constant Gardener (2001), A Most Wanted Man (2008) and A Perfect Spy (1986) - just name a few.". ------------------------------------------ His success allowed him to leave MI6 to become a full-time author and during the 1950s and 1960s, he worked for both the Security Service (MI5) and the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). The film is both narrative and uses performers to reenact certain moments and points in his life. All very well done. His personal opinions and observations of his fellow spies, governments, laws of rule and espionage are absolutely enlightening. ------------------------------------------ The film is a wonderful insight into the man, his life, his mother, his service, his commitment and especially his father. It was surprising and enlightening on what and how a secret service man or spy goes through both mentally and physically. I was surprised and shocked at how isolated they have to be – and how they are. A very good documentary on a real person with a very dangerous job who turned facts into glorious fictional and popular novels. ------------------------------------------- Lorenzo M.

Getting inside the head of a spy is undoubtedly challenging; getting inside the head of a novelist who was once a spy who now writes about that enigmatic profession is nearly impossible. And that's one of the hurdles that hampers this profile of former MI5 and MI6 operative David Cornwell, better known to the world by his pen name, John le Carré (1931-2020). Based on the author's memoir of the same name, the latest from documentarian Errol Morris puts the best-selling espionage novelist under the microscope, seeking to discover who le Carré is, what factors impacted his life and writings, and how his novels mirror those influences in terms of content and themes. Through discussions of books like "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold," "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy," "Smiley's People," "A Perfect Spy" and "The Looking Glass War," backed by clips of film and television adaptations of these works, le Carré and Morris ruminate on the writer's objectives in bringing them to life, some of them personal in nature and some of them expressions of his feelings about the murky underworld he left behind and brought to life on the printed page. Much of what the author consequently discusses comes across as dark, cryptic, and characterized by rampant intrigue and betrayal, not unlike the life he left behind (as well as the dismal upbringing he underwent at the knee of his untrustworthy father, a professional swindler adept at plying his craft). The insights, to say the least, are rather depressing and disquieting. But that unsettling material is further compounded by a string of often-perplexing observations about le Carré's existential outlooks and literary intentions, some of which seemingly amount to little more than oh so much navel gazing and intellectual masturbation, overstated attempts at encapsulating his perspectives on human nature and human relations as reflected through his works. I can imagine that there's probably a market for a film like this among Anglophiles captivated by the writer's works, the spy novel genre in general and PBS/BBC television dramas, but it really didn't do much for me, especially since this offering pales in comparison to many of Morris's other better productions. Thankfully, the picture's merciful 1:32:00 runtime proved to be its saving grace (even though the picture admittedly improves once it gets past an overly long, excessively detailed prologue). Ironically, le Carré notes in the film that he sees his novels as an antidote to the James Bond books and movies, but, from where I stand, I'll take 007 over this any day.

I'm a huge follower of both Le Carre and Errol Morris and immediately after seeing the documentary I would have happily given 5 stars—— but then today I read a review in the WSJ of Adam Sisman's THE SECRET LIFE OF JOHN LE CARRE and now feel that ‘we' —- that is to say myself and Errol were ( albeit magnificently) —- duped. And in some ways it makes the film even more interesting as David Cornwall gives an excellent exhibition of how to lie — while at the same time the interview totally fails to uncover the spectacular secrets spilled in Sisman's biography. Hence my confused two and a half stars!!!

Brilliant look into the life and times of John Le Carre. As a fan of his novels, and a lover of the vast majority of his film and tv adaptations, it is an absolute treat.

Loved this documentary. Write what you know indeed

I found it interesting but no new revelations.... Watch something else unless you are really interested in Le Carre.....

Given pretty much unlimited access, or so we were told, to multi-million selling author David Cornwell, aka John Le Carré, documentarian Errol Morris conducted what turns out to be Le Carré's last ever interview before his death in 2020, tackling very personal subjects relating to his relationship with his con-man father and his work with MI5 which led into a successful career as a world renowned spy novelist. Based around his memoir of the same name, Morris, who's presence, though off-screen, is never very far away, has assembled a frank and revealing film that paints a portrait of a complex and extremely articulate man who has found peace after reconciling with the various demons and nightmares that have haunted him in earlier years via his writing. Or at least that's what Cornwell wants us to believe, and being the wonderful storyteller that he is, you can't help but want to believe his truth. Despite an over-eagerness to fill transitional gaps with CGI pigeons, Morris' dexterous use of archive footage, scenes from films and 온라인카지노추천 adaptations of his books and dramatized reenactments which interrupt and inform the main interview, has produced a classy, elegant and highly stylized piece that I find entirely absorbing and enchanting – and this is from someone who hasn't read any of this novels.

Enjoyable, even if it never really tells viewers what's true or not!

This is obviously great for fans but even for non-fans like myself, I find his insight quite intriguing and often correct. He also talked about objectivity and why it doesn't exist because there is never a non-partial third party but it does exist now as the ever present smart phone.

If you don't know anything about John le Carre (David Cornwell), then this is very eye-opening documentary from Errol Morris and it has the film maker's finger print all over it. If, however, you are from the UK then the revelations are nothing new.

What a waste of time. The interviewee rambles through memories of his childhood both real and imagined, time with MI5 and MI6 and books he authored. It bounces back and forth between all of these areas with no rhyme or reason. The interviewer apparently lost control of his subject.

Wow! This is awesome. Intense. Insightful.

His books enthrall me, as do the films of those books. But, it's chips and cheese compared to this. Will watch it again.