feelsalike.comSign in
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy poster

Movies that feel likeTinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)

George Smiley, the aging master spy of the Cold War and once heir apparent to Control, is brought back out of retirement to flush out a top level mole within the Circus. Smiley must travel back through his life and murky workings of the Circus to unravel the net spun by his nemesis Karla 'The Sandman' of the KGB and reveal the identity of the mole before he disappears.

If you loved Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, the closest films we have are The Ghost Writer (2010), Rojo (2018) and The Hidden Face (2011). All three share Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy's tense and twisty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Kahaani (2012).

🍅 84% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Tomas Alfredsoncontemplativetensetwisty
8 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video

Can't choose? Answer three questions and get one movie for tonight.

Not on subscription streaming right now. Rent or buy below.

See it on the Mood Map

If Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy hit the spot, these will too

The Ghost Writer poster
The Ghost Writer
2010 · dir. Roman Polanski
🍅 84%★ 7.2thriller · mysteryPrime VideoStarz

Both land tension and twists at once

The difference: Less contemplative, more its own thing

A writer stumbles upon a long-hidden secret when he agrees to help former British Prime Minister Adam Lang complete his memoirs on a remote island after the politician's assistant drowns in a mysterious accident.

Rojo poster
Rojo
2018 · dir. Benjamín Naishtat
🍅 96%★ 6.3drama · mystery · thriller

Contemplative drama in both cases

A small town in an Argentinian province, 1975. The life of Claudio, a successful lawyer, gets complicated when he has a stupid quarrel with a stranger in a crowded restaurant.

The Hidden Face poster
The Hidden Face
2011 · dir. Andrés Baiz
★ 7.3thriller · mystery

Both lean on tension more than on thriller

A Spanish orchestra conductor deals with the mysterious disappearance of his girlfriend.

Exam poster
Exam
2009 · dir. Stuart Hazeldine
🍅 61%★ 6.7thriller · mystery

Mystery with a pulse of twists, in both cases

Eight talented candidates have reached the final stage of selection to join the ranks of a mysterious and powerful corporation. Entering a windowless room, where an armed guard keeps watch, they are given 80 minutes to answer one simple question.

Kahaani poster
Kahaani
2012 · dir. Sujoy Ghosh
🍅 100%★ 8.1mystery · thriller

Thriller built on tension, twice over

Pregnant and alone in the city of Kolkata, a woman begins a relentless search for her missing husband, only to find that nothing is what it seems.

Joint Security Area poster
Joint Security Area
2000 · dir. Park Chan-wook
🍅 88%★ 7.7drama · thriller · mystery

Contemplative drama, and it commits to that

Two North Korean soldiers are killed in the border area between North and South Korea, prompting an investigation by a neutral body. The lead investigator (Lee Young-ae) receives differing accounts from the two sides.

Searching poster
Searching
2018 · dir. Aneesh Chaganty
🍅 92%★ 7.6drama · mystery · thriller

Contemplative mystery, and it commits to that

After David Kim's 16-year-old daughter goes missing, a local investigation is opened and a detective is assigned to the case. But 37 hours later and without a single lead, David decides to search the one place no one has looked yet, where all secrets are kept today: his daughter's laptop.

The Village poster
The Village
2004 · dir. M. Night Shyamalan
🍅 43%★ 6.6drama · mystery · thrillerHulu

Both lean on twists more than on drama

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

When a willful young man tries to venture beyond his sequestered Pennsylvania hamlet, his actions set off a chain of chilling incidents that will alter the community forever.

The Firm poster
The Firm
1993 · dir. Sydney Pollack
🍅 77%★ 6.9drama · mystery · thrillerMaxParamount+

Both know what they want from thriller

Mitch McDeere is a young man with a promising future in Law. About to sit his Bar exam, he is approached by 'The Firm' and made an offer he doesn't refuse. Seduced by the money and gifts showered on him, he is totally oblivious to the more sinister side of his company. Then, two Associates are murdered. The FBI contact him, asking him for information and suddenly his life is ruined. He has a choice - work with the FBI, or stay with the Firm. Either way he will lose his life as he knows it. Mitch figures the only way out is to follow his own plan...

Identity poster
Identity
2003 · dir. James Mangold
🍅 64%★ 7.3mystery · thriller

Mystery in the same key

Complete strangers stranded at a remote desert motel during a raging storm soon find themselves the target of a deranged murderer. As their numbers thin out, the travelers begin to turn on each other, as each tries to figure out who the killer is.

Knock at the Cabin poster
Knock at the Cabin
2023 · dir. M. Night Shyamalan
🍅 67%★ 6.1thriller · mysteryNetflix

The thriller is handled with the same confidence

While vacationing at a remote cabin, a young girl and her two fathers are taken hostage by four armed strangers who demand that the family make an unthinkable choice to avert the apocalypse. With limited access to the outside world, the family must decide what they believe before all is lost.

The Name of the Rose poster
The Name of the Rose
1986 · dir. Jean-Jacques Annaud
🍅 74%★ 7.7drama · thriller · mysteryPrime Video

Drama of the same temperament

The difference: Made in the 1980s, in a different era of the craft

14th-century Franciscan monk William of Baskerville and his young novice arrive at a conference to find that several monks have been murdered under mysterious circumstances. To solve the crimes, William must rise up against the Church's authority and fight the shadowy conspiracy of monastery monks using only his intelligence; which is considerable.

In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies →

The best-reviewed films that share Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’s defining feeling.