Solid Cold War Suspense

Rating: 8/10 (4 February 2016)

Steven Spielberg does not make bad films. Okay, admitted there might be one or two exceptions (I'm looking at you Crystal Skull!). However, he has not made a really good film since Munich in 2005. With Bridge of Spies he returns to a well-known arena for him with a story centred around the defense trial of a Soviet spy caught in Cold War America and the subsequent prisoner exchange with the Soviet Union and German Democratic Republic. Teaming up with the Coen Brothers as the film's writers, masterful composer Thomas Newman and regular cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, Spielberg has probably made his best film in 10 years!
The story is divided in two: the first half centred around the trial of Soviet spy Rudolf Abel and the second half focusing on the proposed prisoner exchange with the USSR and GDR. The first half is small-scale courtroom drama where we get to see the political idealism and propaganda originally behind the American defense of the most hated man on US soil. The courtroom scenes and portrayal of the actual trial might be the film's weakest asset feeling rushed and unimportant. The real drama in this first part lies in the chemistry and increasing relation between Rudolf Abel and Tom Hanks' lawyer James B. Donovan and the study of the personal consequences of this for Donovan's private life.
Especially the chemistry between Tom Hanks and the impeccable Mark Rylance as Abel is a joy to behold. Highly acclaimed stage actor Rylance's performance is one of the best supporting roles I have seen in years. He underacts Abel perfectly and he becomes the image of the hopelessness that were everywhere in these times. Donovan keeps asking Abel if he never worries and before Rylance can say 'Would it help?' we already know that this is Abel's view on it; he is way past that point. Hanks also delivers his best performance in years as the idealistic yet vulnerable Donovan and especially in the scenes with his family he shows that he is one of the best to portray the ordinary man.
Roughly half way through the film, though, we leave the small-scale setting of the courtrooms, the prison cells and the living room as Donovan is sent on a secret mission to East Berlin to negotiate the exchange of Abel for by-the-soviets-captured American soldier Francis Gary Powers. The story of Powers prior to his capture feels weirdly out of place, but as the story unfolds this actually makes sense. In this exchange drama (that suddenly includes an American student held by GDR too btw) the persons captured does not matter in the bigger picture. It is all about showing the public that you do not leave people behind - the return of Powers is to become the symbol of the American power in the cold war! The most interesting asset of the film's second part is its portrayal of the very dawn of a physically divided Berlin. This is the dawn of the Wall, the dawn of 'us' and 'them'! Spielberg portrays the small-scale horrors and the grand scale political drama of this situation with such respect that it is close to becoming predictable.
What ultimately saves the day for Spielberg (apart from tremendous performances from Hanks and Rylance) is sheer sense and amount of quality. The cinematography of Kaminski is grand when it needs to be and hauntingly gruesome in its simplicity when showing the horrors of Eastern Berlin. (Here, a certain train ride is in particular touching!). The score from Thomas Newman is classic and without surprises but as with the rest of the machinery it is simply just of the highest quality and fits perfectly in every scene. Finally, the script by Ethan and Joel Coen balances perfectly between the little drama, the grand thriller and some refreshing comedic scenes and pieces of dialogue.
The film is a showpiece of how you construct a well-working film. It lacks the final surprise or courage to become a masterpiece like Schindler's List or Saving Private Ryan, but if everything in Hollywood were to collapse this film stands as an example of why Spielberg will always get back up and be the standing man.