Spielberg teams with TomHanks for another masterful historical drama ‘Bridge of Spies.’
When it comes to historical drama, Steven Spielberg is a master craftsman, and with good reason.
The iconic filmmaker re-creates momentous, oftentimes littleknown historic events and treats each with integrity and conviction. Sometimes, he gets overly passionate and allows running times to run amok, and every so often, the film’s message, albeit important, could use more nuance. Yet those transgressions become minor annoyances in the end.
And Spielberg isn’t flying solo when transforming history into intelligent entertainment. He partners with a band of top-notch pros, and the results are powerful,
rousing productions like “Lincoln,” “Saving Private Ryan,” “Munich” and “Schindler’s List.”
This same concerted effort is fully deployed in the Cold War-era “Bridge of Spies,” a smart, detailed spy drama that showcases high-caliber performances from Tom Hanks and especially from stage actor Mark Rylance (seen in the BBC’s “Wolf Hall”).
Also contributing to this strong, sturdy drama are an incisive screenplay from Matt Charman and Joel and Ethan Coen; atmospheric cinematography by frequent Spielberg collaborator Janusz Kaminski; and some sterling production design by Adam Stockhausen, who won the Oscar for “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and who brings the ’50s and early ’60s to rich life.
Does “Bridge” rate as one of Spielberg’s best? Not entirely, since it’s overly drawn out, notably near the end. But that’s a minor complaint for a mature drama that demands rapt attention and prefers studied execution over frenetic pacing.
One distinct pleasure is watching Spielberg reunite with Hanks for a fourth time. Hanks’ likability fits snugly with the character of Brooklyn lawyer James Donovan, a decent family man who’s pitched into the political schematics of spy trading. He’s been saddled with a no-win case, defending alleged Soviet spy Rudolf Abel (Rylance), a softspoken artist who cinches his belt too tightly above the waistline and adopts the look of a nerd rather than a threatening agent.
Donovan realizes it’s not an appealing assignment, and his wife (Amy Ryan) is none too pleased he’s leading the defense. In fact, everyone is hostile toward Donovan, who wants to see a fair trial even if a let’s-get-him judge and public don’t.
To no one’s surprise, Abel winds up with a guilty verdict. But the trajectory of his fate changes when the American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers (Austin Stowell) is shot down over Russia while he’s surreptitiously snapping pictures. As the Russians slap the American spy with a 10-year sentence, the Berlin Wall is going up and dividing East and West. Meanwhile, an unfortunate American student, Frederic Pryor (Will Rogers), gets caught in the middle and is arrested in East Berlin, assumed to be a spy.
This eventually fuels a complex, grand plan for a spy swap, a delicate dance that teeters on the verge of collapse at any moment, and an insistence from Donovan to make Pryor part of the exchange. Spielberg and his screenwriting team relish conveying the machinations that went into the deal-making, demonstrating how uneasy political times led to finessed, chesslike maneuvering to retrieve spies in an intense trade-off at Glienicke Bridge in 1962.
The cast is ideal. While Hanks is as good as ever and makes us root for a man who wants to do the right thing, it is Rylance who stands out. From Spielberg’s metaphorically dense opening sequence in which his character is painting a self-portrait of his vexingly low-key responses to his attorney, Rylance creates an unforgettably unique individual.
Hanks plays well off him. And since Spielberg does love the underdog, he turns Donovan into a virtuous character who’s all but ready to be sainted. That’s not so bothersome until the final moments. In fact, it’s refreshing to be able to cheer on someone who stands up against public opinion.
“Bridge of Spies” reminds us that underdogs can triumph and in the process even negotiate one hell of a deal by using brains, not brawn.