The Pigeon Tunnel Trailer Puts John le Carré in the Hot Seat

Movies

Walk a bit more briskly past dark alleys because AppleTV has released a trailer for The Pigeon Tunnel. Named after – but not quite based on – the autobiography of legendary spy novelist John le Carré, The Pigeon Tunnel is “the final interview” le Carré conducted before his death in 2020. The interview is conducted by Errol Morris, who also directs, and it examines le Carré’s life as a spy and his forays into fiction (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, The Night Manager, A Most Wanted Man, etc.), complete with “rare archival footage and dramatized vignettes.” The Pigeon Tunnel will screen in select theaters and begin streaming on AppleTV on October 20.

This is the bad part about having a million streaming services; inevitably, one you don’t subscribe to will make something you really want to watch. Luckily, it’ll have a limited theatrical release (it’s times like this I love living in New York City), so I should be able to catch The Pigeon Tunnel. I have complicated feelings about John le Carré; I love some of his books, hate some, think some are okay, and find others to lean one way or the other to varying degrees. Oftentimes, I like the film or television adaptations of his novels better than the source material, which is sacrilege in some circles, but I can’t help it. On the other hand, I love some of his books that are considered lesser entries in his repertoire, and he’ll often surprise me when I pick one up – though, to be fair, that goes both ways. And if you’re into spy fiction, as I am, you have to check him out sooner or later. (Also check out Spybrary, a podcast about the genre by people who love it and don’t judge differing tastes.)

But beyond his contributions to the spy genre and literature at large, le Carré led a fascinating life, and that’s where much of my interest in The Pigeon Tunnel lies. He was once a spy himself, working for British Intelligence until he was outed by the infamous traitor Kim Philby. (His novel Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was his revenge – or perhaps more accurately, his catharsis – a story about his recurring hero, George Smiley, hunting down a Soviet spy in his agency.) And as an author, he influenced the intelligence world by creating jargon so catchy and illustrative that real spies began using it; the term “mole,” for instance, was coined by le Carré in (I believe) Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and it was subsequently adopted by real spy agencies. I’m interested in knowing what experiences he drew from when writing his books, how his time as a spy gave him different perspectives on the world, and things like that. But I also want to know about the writing.