Any Steven Spielberg movie should be considered an event. But I wasn’t really feeling much excitement for Bridge of Spies. Maybe because the marketing — especially the posters — was so boring.
(Yes, I get that Tom Hanks is the selling point for audiences, so he has to be prominently featured. But his face between the U.S. and USSR flags really doesn’t say a whole lot. Great movie posters really are a lost art, which has created a space for studios like Mondo, along with often bad fan art. I realize I am digressing.)
Plus, this is a film that doesn’t really lend itself to exciting trailers because there aren’t elaborate set pieces or showy monologues that are ideally suited for quick, preview-friendly clips. Though it contains thriller elements and hints of espionage, Bridge of Spies is much more of a character drama with people talking to each other, battling through negotiations rather than gunplay or fisticuffs, navigating the tense political Cold War climate in which the slightest misstep could trigger an international incident, if not outright war.
I’m not even certain that the trailers and ads do justice to what a rich film this is. Yes, the marketing conveys the premise well enough: James Donovan (Hanks) is an insurance lawyer asked to defend Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance), a seemingly gentle man who has been discovered to be a Russian spy. And later on, he is asked to negotiate a swap between the United States and Soviet Union, in which Abel is turned over to the Russians in exchange for Francis Powers, a American pilot who was shot down flying a spy plane over the USSR. The negotiation takes place in East Berlin, as the Berlin Wall is being constructed.
While that is a basic summary of Bridge of Spies‘ premise, there’s so much more to the movie than that, not the least of which is another American (a grad student) held prisoner in East Berlin on suspicion of being a spy, whose release Donovan also tries to negotiate in a package deal with Powers. That puts Donovan in the position of negotiating with both the Russian and East German governments, who might be working together yet still want to be dealt with directly out of respect.
Then there’s also the relationship that develops between Donovan and Abel. While it couldn’t be called a friendship, a respect grows among the two men who are serving their countries’ best interests while also doing what they think is right. They’re both good people put in virtually unwinnable positions by their respective governments.
Hanks and Rylance play this wonderfully, saying as much with their expressions and thoughtful pauses as with any words spoken between them, although the script by Joel and Ethan Coen (yes, those Coen brothers!), along with Matt Charman gives the cast plenty of witty lines to savor. Rylance, in particular (whose work I was previously unfamiliar with), is so dry in his nonchalance over his predicament that it breaks the tension of the story several times. Abel grows to trust Donovan, if for no other reason than he doesn’t have much choice.
That’s not to say Spielberg has made an excessively talky film. Yes, most scenes are set in offices, lounges and conference rooms, the types of settings where important meetings and decisions are typically made. Several scenes are also set in a prison visiting room, with lawyer and client having privileged conversations. But Spielberg didn’t just leave his cameras on tripods to film two-shots and alternate between Hanks and whomever he shared a scene with.
As is almost always the case, the cinematography by frequent Spielberg collaborator Janusz Kaminski is gorgeous. (Though if you’re not a fan of the washed-out, desaturated look with heavy light occasionally shining into the camera that Kaminski has used in other Spielberg films, such as Minority Report, Munich and Lincoln… well, find something to grab onto or bite down upon for several scenes. Personally, I enjoy the distinctive style.)
Several shots are so beautifully composed that you wish you could pause the film and just admire what’s on screen for a few more seconds, if not minutes. But the pace of the film lets you appreciate those visuals just enough, providing enough time to appreciate what’s on screen and what the characters are saying — and perhaps in some cases, not saying — as they stick and move, trying to get the upper hand for their respective countries’ national interests, and refuse to yield in a standoff of national pride and ego. This is just a beautiful piece of filmmaking on every level, from the cinematography to the writing to the acting.
In thinking about it, Bridge of Spies somewhat reminds me of The Martian, in that this is a movie about the best of us, in terms of our intelligence, pride and honor. Donovan refuses to swim with the current of hatred toward our national enemies, consistently fighting for what is morally and legally right, because to do otherwise would reflect poorly upon the United States — even if he often seems to be the only one among civilians, judges, military officials, and foreign agents to realize that.
However, this is also a movie about the worst of us, how our governments and judicial systems, and our citizens, will toss aside civil and human rights because of what they believe and their irrational dislike for foreign powers that seemingly threaten their democracy. Though this is a story based on historical events that takes place during the Cold War, depicting a time that has long passed, the themes expressed therein have extreme resonance in our current culture.
Sometimes, you just have to trust the people involved in a particular film and the excellent work they’ve done in the past. Maybe that’s a rule to follow all the time. It should almost certainly apply to Spielberg and Hanks, given their track record of success. Spielberg might be past the days of making a blockbuster type of film — seemingly preferring to pass those duties onto another, often younger director in his role as a producer — but the man can still make a damn good movie. Bridge of Spies might be the best he’s directed in nearly 15 years. Don’t write this one off.
