Recommendation: The Pigeon Tunnel

Written and directed by Errol Morris, The Pigeon Tunnel splices interview snippets, archival footage, and classic film clips into a gripping documentary covering the life and career of David Cornwell (pen name: John le Carré).

Tragic backstory: Abandoned by his biological mother and raised by his confidence man father, le Carré’s humble origins once again highlight an unassailable axiom: Coming from a fucked up family ensures a child will grow up to become a spook or an artist. In le Carré’s case, he managed to traverse both paths, and throughout the documentary he speaks openly and candidly about how his harrowing yet fascinating childhood influenced and fueled his creative process, and how being a writer and being a spy are not so different. This is superb stuff.

Stranger than fiction: After covering his childhood and early career as a school teacher, the documentary next explores how le Carré made his way into the secret world. He ended up stationed in West Berlin during the erection of the Berlin Wall, and le Carré explains how the experience quickly soured him on intelligence work and motivated him to write his breakthrough novel The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. Of particular interest, while the book is a bona fide masterpiece, in 1963 Spy collided with Western culture’s newfound infatuation with James Bond. Dr. No and the suave yet ruggedly handsome Sean Connery had taken the film world by storm in 1962, and le Carré’s grimmer and grimier depiction of the espionage game served as a much-needed corrective to the glamorized and absurdly unrealistic world inhabited by Bond. Timing, as they say, is everything.

A slow, methodical burn: While rich in source material and teeming with insight, The Pigeon Tunnel is nonetheless a laconic documentary and doesn’t make for the most high-octane viewing. This isn’t the kind of program you should watch while doomscrolling social media, washing dishes, or yelling at your kids. To truly absorb and appreciate what’s on offer, you’ll want to set aside time for focused, single-screen viewing.

Final verdict: I loved The Pigeon Tunnel and it’s absolutely worth ninety minutes of your time. There are, however, subtle spoilers for several books throughout the film. If that’s a concern, make sure to read a novel or two (or ten) before diving in.

Where to watch: Apple TV+.

Related media: le Carré published a memoir of the same name in 2016, and many moons ago my loving wife gave me the book as a birthday present. I read the opening chapters and enjoyed them, but then one or both of my children must’ve halted my progress and I failed to revisit the text. I’m now addressing this oversight.