(USA, 141 min.)
Dir. Steven Spielberg, Writ. Mark Charman, Joel Coen &
Ethan Coen
Starring: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Amy Ryan, Austin Stowell,
Will Rogers
Spielberg is back! The master of escapism returns with the
rousing and impeccably crafted Cold War drama Bridge of Spies. It might seem strange to say that Spielberg
emerges from a slump even after his two previous films, Lincoln and War Horse,
are both Best Picture Oscar nominees and Indiana
Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was a box office hit even if it
stained a franchise, but Bridge of Spies
sees Spielberg in his element. The film is grandly entertaining and polished
with the signature Spielberg flare. It’s patriotically and wholesomely
appealing, yet—and this aspect most crucially elevates the film above Spielberg’s
most recent works—it doesn’t feel lame, trite, or cheesy. Bridge of Spies is instead dark and thoughtful on America’s place
in the world and its position on foreign policy. In short, Bridge of Spies showcases of Spielberg’s skills as both an
entertainer and an artist.
Ample credit for the wild success of Bridge of Spies belongs to Spielberg’s greatest collaborators, Tom Hanks, who gives one of his stronger performances as lawyer James B. Donovan, a kind and pragmatic man faced with the difficult task of defending accused Russian spy Rudolph Abel (Wolf Hall’s Mark Rylance). The case is simply a charade of American justice, yet Donovan’s empathy mixes with his shrewd legal mind as he fights for the rights and freedom of his client. It doesn’t matter if Abel did the crime or if didn’t: Donovan knows that this case is significant for Cold War era America.
His assessment proves to be true when young American CIA
pilot Francis Gary Powers (Austin Stowell) finds himself shot down and in enemy
hands whilst performing a covert aerial reconnaissance of Russian territory.
The task falls on Donovan, having proved himself a smart legal mind and one for
whom compassion towards Abel is unique in America, to act as the chief negotiator
between American and the Russians to get their man back in exchange for the
Russian spy. The crux of the matter, though, is that an innocent American
student, Frederic Pryor (Will Rogers), was arrested in Berlin, where
negotiations are happening on both sides of the rising Berlin Wall. The
Americans say leave him, but Donovan, ever the American, sees a deal of two for
one.
Instead of offering a team of rivals, one flaw this critic found
with the awards-baity Lincoln, Bridge of Spies forms a cohesive family
as Spielberg underplays his direction and lets the actors, story, and artists
work in harmony in this fine piece of classical Hollywood cinema. DP Janusz
Kaminski is in his element with the blue hues of and dark shadows of Cold War
America and Berlin, while composer Thomas Newman is a welcome replacement for
Spielberg regular John Williams with a nuanced and stealthy score. The ensemble
is very strong, too, especially with Mark Rylance’s masterfully subdued and restrained
performance as Abel (the man wears a poker face even as he cracks a chuckle)
and Amy Ryan’s reassuring turn as Donovan’s wife, Mary. It’s Hanks’s show,
though, as the actor creates an immensely likable negotiator—and one whose
intelligence and good character appear with every touch.
Bridge of Spies
hinges on the relatable humanity of Hanks’s performance as Donovan becomes a
pillar for the values of not only America, but of freedom and liberty as well.
Hank’s everyman charm makes Donovan’s plight consistently appealing as he
defends the stoic, yet jovial Abel. Hanks is to acting what Spielberg, at his
finest, is to directing as the actor/director combo channels an unabashedly American
patriotism and sense of values into Donovan’s spirit, yet Bridge of Spies never feels at all preachy or sentimental. The film
is proudly American and in an understated way that one just doesn’t see anymore
in mainstream American film.
The film’s genuine American pride comes through one of
Spielberg’s finest strokes as a director. Bridge
of Spies offers two distinct visual contrasts as Donovan travels in Berlin
and New York towards the end of the film. In Berlin, he witnesses the
inhumanity of this newly divided nation as he and a crowd of passengers on the
metro watch a family try to cross the no-man’s land between the walls only to be
gunned down in the process. The sight shakes Donovan to his core and reaffirms
his duty to free the young Pryor and ensure the safety of Powers and Abel alike.
The contrast comes in the film’s finale, which is a masterstroke of direction,
as Donovan rides the metro back home. He looks out the window and, once again,
he sees rows of walls and fences. They’re not concrete walls and barbed wires,
though; they’re homes and picket fences. Instead of escapees navigating a
minefield and falling to bullets, Donovan sees boys playing. They jump over the
wall, free. It’s hard not to smile with Hanks in turn.
Rating: ★★★★½ (out of ★★★★★)
Bridge of Spies is now playing in wide release.
