The new stills we have from Tomas Alfredson’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy just dangle the carrot a little more, but at least a lot of them are of Tom Hardy as Ricki Tarr! (I’m pretty sure that mouth is considered obscene in many parts of the world. That's him in the poster even if it does have Gary Oldman's name under the pic.) It feels like it’s been ages since we’ve had anything new on this film, one of the most hotly awaited of the big movie season. Of course, it’s already been out for literally months in the UK; it’s only us schmucks in the US and Canada that are still panting like puppies waiting by the dinner dish.

In case you’re still unaware of this film, the official synopsis from its kick-ass website:

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is the long-awaited feature film version of John le Carré’s classic bestselling novel. The thriller is directed by Tomas Alfredson (Let the Right One In). The screenplay adaptation is by the writing team of Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan.

The time is 1973. The Cold War of the mid-20th Century continues to damage international relations. Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), a.k.a. MI6 and code-named the Circus, is striving to keep pace with other countries’ espionage efforts and to keep the U.K. secure. The head of the Circus, known as Control (John Hurt), personally sends dedicated operative Jim Prideaux (Mark Strong) into Hungary. But Jim’s mission goes bloodily awry, and Control is forced out of the Circus – as is his top lieutenant, George Smiley (Gary Oldman), a career spy with razor-sharp senses.

…Smiley is soon called in to see undersecretary Oliver Lacon (Simon McBurney); he is to be rehired in secret at the government’s behest, as there is a gnawing fear that the Circus has long been compromised by a double agent, or mole, working for the Soviets and jeopardizing England. Supported by younger agent Peter Guillam (Benedict Cumberbatch), Smiley parses Circus activities past and present. In trying to track and identify the mole, Smiley is haunted by his decades-earlier interaction with the shadowy Russian spy master Karla.

The mole’s trail remains cold until maverick field agent Ricki Tarr (Tom Hardy) unexpectedly contacts his handler, Guillam. While undercover in Turkey, Ricki has fallen for a betrayed married woman, Irina (Svetlana Khodchenkova), who claims to possess crucial intelligence. Separately, Smiley learns that Control narrowed down the list of mole suspects to five men. They are the ambitious Percy Alleline (Toby Jones), code-named Tinker; suavely confident Bill Haydon (Colin Firth), dubbed Tailor; stalwart Roy Bland (Ciarán Hinds), called Soldier; officious Toby Esterhase (David Dencik), dubbed Poor Man; and – Smiley himself, tagged as Spy.

Even before the startling truth is revealed, the emotional and physical tolls on the players enmeshed in the deadly international spy game will escalate…

The clip below, called “Good Flight?”,  features Haydon (Firth) and Smiley (Oldman). It’s 42 seconds of pure tension.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (finally!) opens December 9. Enjoy the pics!