Arguably the most respected writer of fiction in the last 60 years, John le Carré’s forte was the spy novel. During that time, le Carré (pronounced lə-KARR-ay) penned over two dozen novels, most of which have been adapted into features and TV shows (some more than once). And while this new biographical documentary about him by filmmaker Errol Morris devotes sufficient time to these books, it is based mostly on le Carré’s second and final work of nonfiction.
Within the first few minutes, le Carré tells Mr. Morris (who also serves as the writer and interviewer) that all of his novels had at one time or another used the working title “The Pigeon Tunnel,” which eventually became the title of his 2016 memoir.
Father Doesn’t Know Best
A seasoned grifter, Ronnie went from one scam to the next and was rarely without female companionship, many of whom pulled double duty as substitute mother figures. Growing up on the run with Ronnie, who was perpetually eluding creditors, the law, and the mob, prematurely aged and hardened le Carré—something that made him an ideal candidate for a career as a secret agent.
It was during le Carré’s stints in MI5 and MI6 that he began writing, and after the runaway success of his third novel, “The Spy Who Came in From the Cold” (1963), he abandoned his career as a spy. His decade-long stint as a covert agent would provide a wellspring of material from which to draw, but two novels, in particular, hit close to the bone.
The first of these was “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” (1974), the first installment in the “Karla Trilogy.” Although the recurring character George Smiley was the lead, it was the supporting character, Bill Haydon, that caught the attention of readers who quickly surmised that he was based on Kim Philby.
Part of the infamous Cambridge Five spy ring, Philby was in actuality a mole working with the Soviets who defected in 1963. A man who keeps his cards close to the vest and rarely exhibits any emotion, le Carré gets close to doing so here, while recalling his disdain for Philby and an aborted meeting with him in Moscow in the 1980s.
It’s with le Carré’s recollection of the background and inspiration for “A Perfect Spy” (1986) that “The Pigeon Tunnel” reaches its narrative crescendo. Without giving too much away, the lead, Magnus Pym, is a stand-in for le Carré; and Pym’s father, Rick, is based on Ronnie. Le Carré has compared writing this book as a substitute for years of psychotherapy.
Known mostly for “The Thin Blue Line” (1988), “The Fog of War” (2003), and “The Unknown Known” (2013), Mr. Morris is one of the very few, if not the only director who knows how to successfully marry the extremely tough-to-manage docudrama storytelling device with traditional documentary filmmaking.
The Pigeons of Monte Carlo
Nearly half of “The Pigeon Tunnel” running time is presented in the docudrama format, and the scenes are not only convincing but also nearly flawless in their execution. The most moving of these many passages is a frequently visited vignette composed of le Carré’s recollection of a trip he made with Ronnie to Monte Carlo as a teen. It is here where the title of the movie and its companion book are explained, and it is thoroughly spine-shivering.In his role as the interviewer, Mr. Morris succeeds in his high-stakes gamble of prompting le Carré to delve further into not only the details of his troubled upbringing but also how these events worked their way into his novels. At first, le Carré displays a marked level of apprehension, but he eventually slips into a state of relaxation as he realizes that the path Mr. Morris is taking adds great texture and depth to the film.
One thing I was hoping to take away from the movie, and something I’m certain other le Carré fans want to know, was why he elected to use a pen name in general, and “John le Carré” in particular; sadly, it is never addressed. Or perhaps Mr. Morris did address it, and le Carré chose to take that secret with him to his grave.
As documentary biographies of artists go, “The Pigeon Tunnel” is one of the best of its kind ever produced and should be required viewing for any serious movie or literary fiction fan.
