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With the seasoned eye of an undercover operative David Cornwell weighs up his interrogator, an Oscar winning documentarian who calls himself Errol Morris (The Fog of War). Interspersed with archive photographs, fictional recreations and era specific images of historical events, what follows is an engrossing ninety-minute dive into the life of author John le Carre as seen through The Pigeon Tunnel.
A film that is led from the opening frame by an evasive figure with inquisitive eyes who is constantly re-assessing the situation as those questions come thick and fast from a man who has done his research. Laying out in minute detail the formative years of this fictional spymaster general, renowned for writing some of the best espionage novels of the last century or any other, yet rarely doing interviews, and living a life which often imitated the fiction for which he was famous.
Similar in many ways to Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, that combined fact and fiction together with talking heads to draw audiences in, The Pigeon Tunnel pulls off a similar trick by interweaving narrative threads alongside a candid voice over. Much of what makes this film so intriguing comes down to le Carre himself, who is a hugely charismatic character on camera with a cast iron presence that is disarming yet vaguely dangerous.
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There is a sense throughout that this master storyteller is embellishing his own life story, and merely spinning an intricate yarn to entertain the audience. From the romantic retelling of an early trip to Monte Carlo with his father, through to recollections concerning Kim Philby, a famous British defector, The Pigeon Tunnel possesses a rose-tinted reality that feels almost irresistible. Errol Morris is also savvy enough to sneak in clips from film and television adaptations alongside the clipped tones of his author, blurring boundaries between fact and fiction as he tries to navigate his way through the maze of memories le Carre is drawing on.
Following its recent showing at the London Film Festival and subsequent release, The Pigeon Tunnel has already received plaudits from industry experts, since it delves into the murky depths of undercover espionage helping create something truly captivating that may yet cause audiences to revisit Alec Guiness in the original BBC adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, or better yet, track down Richard Burton’s Spy Who Came in From the Cold.
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Whatever the repercussions from audiences who choose to embrace The Pigeon Tunnel, there is no denying that John le Carre was a singular talent who carried more than his fair share of secrets. Masterful in creating and embracing his own mythology, there is no doubt that this quintessential English author had many more stories to tell.
The Pigeon Tunnel is available to stream on AppleTV+ now.
