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‘Bridge of Spies’ is Steven Spielberg’s best work since ‘Saving Private Ryan’ and will most assuredly put both Spielberg and Hanks in the race for the Oscar once again. I don’t say this lightly as I’m one who is fatigued by glory and deference piled upon successful Hollywood Directors and Actors. I feel that often their work is given a pass when it is mediocre or sub-par. Further, having grown up with Cold War stories my whole life, I have begun to grow fatigued over what I thought was an exhausted genre. However, good is good, or in this case excellent. Spielberg truly uses film as an artistic canvas and takes a fight and battle free Cold War drama and makes it seem more action packed than most modern blockbusters.
Anyone who grew up reading John LeCarre, Tom Clancy, or Robert Ludlum remembers how much Cold War intrigue was a part of our life. Today’s generation has little concept of the extreme polarization of the world at the time compared to today’s fractured globalized politics. Nothing illustrated that more than the rise of the Berlin wall that went up and ultimately came down before the current generation was even born. Fears of global destruction seemed to teeter on the slightest misstep in world diplomacy. Compared to today’s currently politically correct and morally equivalent world, the Cold War saw no qualms about labeling the enemy and vilifying them.
In 1959, when Russian spy, Rudolph Abel (Mark Rylance) was captured, the public spectacle was an almost unanimous lynch mob mentality. The public and government alike looked for ways to skirt The Constitution instead of adhering to it. The United States government sourced James Donovan, a former Nuremberg prosecutor and current insurance lawyer, to represent Abel just for the appearance of a fair trial.’Bridge of Spies’ is inspired by the true story of James Donovan (Oscar performance by Tom Hanks) doing his constitutional duty of defending the accused and then becoming a key negotiator in the prisoner swap of Abel and downed U2 spy plane pilot, Gary Powers. In a further demonstration of Donovan’s skill as a negotiator, he was also able to get a wrongfully jailed American student thrown in as part of the bargain.
Spielberg’s gift as a Director is his ability to show decency and values in the worst of situations without ever seeming contrived or naive. He is able to capture the wholesomeness and optimism of the time even as he reveals the horrors and anxiety of Cold War life. This is a type of role for which Tom Hanks was made. He is the virtuous everyman, given an impossible task of arranging a pre dawn prisoner swap in East Berlin at the Glienecke Bridge without any acknowledgement from the US government of his mission. His objective of negotiating while completely vulnerable to the whims of the newly formed East German government is an occasion to which few could rise. Donovan’s ability to remain calm and even go beyond his mission to help secure the release of the unjustly captured American student is a feat to watch and we marvel at his tenacity, when at many points, it would have been easier to leave the student behind.
Mark Rylance gives a superb and understated performance (one that I hope isn’t overlooked) as the Russian spy, Rudolph Abel. His guilt is never in doubt, but with benefit of hindsight, he was not the monster Cold War hysteria painted him as. A meek man who was only doing his job diligently for his side, his unlikely friendship with Donovan was the core of the film. I do wish Spielberg had delved more deeply into Donavan’s motivations, but some of the film’s allure was Abel’s calm reserve, mystery, and detachment. When Donovan asks Abel “Why aren’t you worried?”, his deadpan reply of “Would it help?” becomes a running joke in the film and even a source of comfort towards the end. It’s not that we have sympathy for Abel, rather an understanding that, much like the captured pilot Gary Powers (Austin Stowell), he was just doing his job.
This is just a great movie and fully worth the price of admission. A great throw back to the Cold war era and a story worth being told. It’s edge of your seat stuff and a great reminder of a world we have left behind.
I give the film **** 1/2 stars
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