Synopsis:

In 1979, an aspiring English actress is recruited to infiltrate a network plotting terrorism in Europe. TV to movie edit of Park Chan-wook's 2018 miniseries, based on the 1983 novel of the same name by John le Carré.

Intentions:

I've always found this series extremely overlooked for a cast, crew, and source material of such prestige. That said, I can understand it; it is a very slow and sometimes intentionally obscured work. While I enjoy that very meticulous nature quite a bit, I find that I wouldn't expect someone to be hooked between episodes, let alone for the whole 6 hour ride. There is a lot worth sharing though, and like a lot of le Carré stories, I think the journey ultimately pays off, leaving you a lot to chew on and think about. So that was the first order of business: cutting the film down into feature length, perhaps to fit neatly alongside a canon of other great le Carré adaptations (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, A Most Wanted Man, etc). The main things done to this end were simplifying a good bit of the tradecraft / planning, as well as excising some of the more complex threads for clarity. The story juggles less, but is hopefully as compelling. I did try to preserve some of the more methodical elements so it's not gutted of its overall feel. It won't be more exciting or noticeably faster paced than it already was. I only wanted to condense it, but maintain its slow-burn and intrigue.

Change List:

Replaced "AMC Original Series" card with the logos of the production companies involved in producing this. Feels more movie-like. Moved [trimmed] scene of Marty and Dr. Alexis actually discussing Khalil before seeing the inciting bombing plot play out. (DIRECTOR'S CUT) Added in (DIRECTOR'S CUT) bar scene as an intro to Charlie Charlie and friends at snooker bar, set to added Iggy Pop's 'Lust For Life' in the diegesis. (DIRECTOR'S CUT) Cut multiple scenes of Marty and Shimon dealing with bureaucracy and investigating leads. They have already made relevant progress when we first cut back to them. Added typewriter text for Munich, West Germany on first scene back to them. Charlie's apartment party uses extended (DIRECTOR'S CUT) sequence and uses discussion of Thatcher instead of Palestine. Cut Al chewing out the troupe for being excited about Holiday Trimmed Greece scenes Trimmed Munich stake out Cut Shimon's introduction to Olympic Village and meeting the Mossad team. Trimmed Salim's border crossing and capture Moved Charlie's song and subsequent discovery of Sophie and Al on the beach as the cause-effect for joining "Jose" in Athens. Used extended (DIRECTOR'S CUT) Cut flashback of discovering Charlie from the forum Cut flashback of Gadi's being recruited for the mission Melded episode 1 ending to where episode 2 returns to it Trimmed the scenes of Salim being gaslit / lied to in the isolation safe Trimmed Charlie's interrogation Rearranged the Fatmeh letter plot, bookends next sequence Salim talking at the Forum intercut with Gadi listening / practicing his lines Trimmed Charlie and "Salim"'s romantic excursions, specifically avoiding reference to Joseph and Michel being different characters. Removed thread about Gadi's marriage Cut Shimon posing as Salim's lawyer, using one bit from it only to establish Salzburg as the drop point. Placed after Charlie and Gadi settle into their hotel. Cut Gadi telling Kurtz Charlie isn't ready and revealing Michel's real name. Charlie learning the real name can be implied as the story unfolds. Trimmed Charlie driving to industrial yard from hotel Melded episode 2 ending to episode 3 beginning Rearranged the progression of the Kleinalm pivot, Marty finds out about Salzburg, right before he goes to confront Salim about it. Information is more in sync between the teams Used revelation of Salim in the moment of the opening attack, being distraught that Gabriel was still inside the building. (DIRECTOR'S CUT) Cut Charlie stopped at border Trimmed delivery of the semtex and capture of Anna Cut Charlie and Gadi's post-mission hotel and bath Cut the scenes scouting the location for Salim and Anna's 'accidental' death, and subsequent informal briefs between the agents. Trimmed Charlie being shown Salim's naked body Cut Gadi's "We remember" bit about Munich Cut Charlie drinking and angsting about the situation, and Michel's VO over it Cut Gadi and Marty discussing the mission. Typewriter text for London at new point. Recut Michel's letter to include previously cut information, and (DIRECTOR'S CUT) clip of Charlie herself saying "Terror is theatre." Episode 3 ending neatly cuts into Shimon playing piano at the start of episode 4 Trimmed beginning of Marty entering the new London ops safehouse Added typewriter location text for London, England Cut Charlie feeding the ducks Added a cutaway to Salim, and "I'm here" from [what is now contextualized as] Salim's handwriting, to show Charlie's growing dissonance re: Gadi and Salim. Trimmed Charlie and Gadi play acting her and Salim about Khalil and the gun Cut white scarf bit Cut Charlie and Sophie hugging Cut Charlie talking to ops over the radio after she discovers the vodka Cut Charlie preparing for the next steps of the op for the rest of episode 4, skipping to her meeting Rossino in the phone booth. This large cut includes removing her & Gadi getting to have real romantic connection, streamlining the tension of her radicalization Removes the subthread about the brown bracelet Replaced a "Khalil" from Gadi with a "My brother" to, again, emphasize Charlie's dissonance Trimmed Charlie's escort to meet Tayeh and Fatmeh, excising most of Gadi's argument with Marty Trimmed Tayeh's interrogation of Charlie Replaced cutaway of Charlie and Gadi kissing with episode 3 ending visuals Episode 4 ending cuts neatly into episode 5 beginning Simplified Charlie's time at the training camp, it is one montage, cutting the plot with the American and making her time in Lebanon all one thing Trimmed her time at Fatmeh's camp The thread about Khalil's postcards and the offscreen attacks are simplified to one scene deciphering "DISASTER", spun off from believably having a tail on Rossino as part of the operation's offscreen maintenance Cut most of Marty meeting with MI6, simplifying their correspondence to the one scene (with the chickens) where the series gets its namesake. Trimmed scenes before bag switch sequence, and the sequence itself to facilitate removal of the brown bracelet thread Cut Helga's suspicion about the bracelet, she just hugs Charlie before she goes to meet Khalil Melded episode 5 ending to episode 6 beginning Trimmed Charlie and Khalil's conversation while making the bomb to remove reference to things that no longer happen in this edit (DIRECTOR'S CUT) - inspired cutaways included Cut Picton and Marty discussing the protestors and Britain's role in creating Israel. Cut Gadi instructing Charlie to set Khalil up for the kill. There is no more set-up for Charlie making Khalil "vulnerable", which is important. Trimmed Charlie and Khalil at the house in the woods Added dialogue from Gadi and Kurtz setting up the edit's new stakes Because of the previous cuts to Charlie's new brief, the choice is not about the radio after making him vulnerable, but about whether or not she continues "the scene". Trimmed climactic sequence where MI6 blows Charlie's cover Cut straight from Charlie crying over Khalil's body to her being escorted to the ambulance. Final shot is the winding down of the op, Charlie having the bracelet removed from her. Cut to black. (DIRECTOR'S CUT) credits

Additional Notes:

Aside from being mindful of time economy, most of the big decisions were made to streamline the tension of Charlie's radicalization and leave the narrative in a place more bitter than sweet, if at all. Without her and Gadi's romance playing out, Charlie's growing inclination towards the Palestinian cause is less muddled, and her feelings for the Al Khadar brothers are more about where her intense acting method takes her (+disgust with her handlers), as opposed to entwined with feelings for Gadi. There should still be enough trust and mentorship felt between Gadi and Charlie, that the internal conflict is still there, but only enough that it still feels possible she might defect. The miniseries had the time to do both, this does not. The Director's Cut and more widely available streaming version use different font / animation styles for location text - in order to give that discrepancy some purpose, whichever style I chose for my own inserted custom text affirms usage A) as though from the operation's documentation (streaming's typewriter animation), or B) non-diegetic reading of time, location, or character (Director's Cut's more straightforward fades).

Other Sources:

The Little Drummer Girl Soundtrack by Jo Yeong-wook The Little Drummer Girl Director's Cut