The Overall Picture The poster for ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is suitable for the film’s storyline and title. The title is slightly ambiguous and this is reflected in some of the images in the background. The entire background are letters and numbers and could be argued that its some sort of code and this, in itself leads to mystery and highlights the spy theme/genre. The colour scheme used within the poster is white, blue and red and these are very effective as there are only a few colours so it doesn’t over complicate the poster. These colours could suggest a tie with the USA/UK as these are the colours seen in both countries’ flags. The use of these colours also shows a clear brand identity for the film as the majority of the writing (except the film title) is in white and this demonstrates the continuity with the whole poster.

The main man Connotation/Denotation:

The male protagonist is the only character in colour, his position on the page and how you can see of him on the poster shows his importance. His stance dominates the poster and suggests he is the lead character.

The Others

The majority of the poster is taken up by the characters who are in the background, which I find a nice twist as if something or someone is placed in the background they’re usually of less significance. However, in this case they take up quite a lot of the poster so therefore are considered still important. Most of the characters themselves are placed in the darkness of shadows and this could be a key clue into the film’s storyline or insight of these characters. All the background characters except one are also not making eye contact with the viewer and this lack of direct audience address could suggest these characters’ guilty consciences.

The Others

This image is of two men from a medium shot. The mise en scene is of them standing as if they’re in a conversation in front of an aeroplane. The man to the left is holding a briefcase and the man to the right is standing with his hands in his pockets, similar to the pose of the main male at the centre of the poster. The plane and overall mise en scene suggests that the two characters met up for a quick meeting before departing or using the plane as a ‘getaway’ perhaps.

This image shows a close-up of a man holding a gun. From a spectator’s point of view this already suggests several things about the character such as hi being a man of a violent nature and probably a killer. The position of how he is holding the gun shows that he is comfortable and probably experienced in handling weapons.

This is a close-up of the actor Colin Firth. From his costume, it implies that he is a professional man as he is wearing a suit and tie. However, his facial expression is one of sadness or perhaps worry like he’s just found out some bad news. He is the only character out of all the characters in the background which make direct audience address as he is making eye contact.

This is a long shot image of a man in a library. He is the middle of the picture and suggests he is the most significant figure within the picture. The fact he is in a library shows that he is inquisitive and possibly researching on an issue of importance.

This is another close-up, but this time of a woman. She is the only woman present in the poster and this implies that she holds some significant status. Once again, this character avoids direct audience address by focussing her gaze elsewhere.

The Others

This is an image of a man from a long distance shot. He is holding a briefcase and walking down the street. This mise en scene raises a variety of questions from the audience viewing this poster such as “what is he doing?”, “where is he going?” and “what is in his briefcase?”. The type of shot in regards to the rest of the poster is quite unusual as most of the other characters are seen from close-ups. This could be insight into this characters and could show that he doesn’t like to be close to people and prefers to be kept at a distance.

This image is of a man from a close-up shot. He has a worried facial expression and this could make the audience wonder if he is a troubled character within the film, or if he could break typical film conventions by being a man and playing the ‘damzel in distress’ role. However, the mise en scene shows an object in background that is quite close to characters so maybe the character was carrying out a task on the object and was called and startled, hence his fearful facial expression.

This shot is a close-up of yet another man. Similarly to his fellow male characters, he is wearing a suit, suggesting he is of a high class, has some wealth and has a professional career. He too, is not making any eye contact with the viewer and therefore breaks typical poster conventions by not making direct audience address. His facial expression and the manner at which he is looking implies that he is talking to someone and having a conversation which has perhaps angered him due to his lack of smiling or cheerfulness.

This is a long shot and is of a table full of men accompanied by other objects on the table. The fact that all men are at the table suggest that they’re participating in a meeting and dealing with important business. The chosen shot was deliberate and therefore could be a way of keeping the viewer at arm’s length of what actually happens within that scene in the film. They could want the viewer to ask questions and wonder what is happening.

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