Spielberg and Hanks reunion delivers once more in a solid spy movie

Rating: 8/10 (12 December 2015)

After a small hiatus, Steven Spielberg returns with the untold story of James B. Donovan. An insurance lawyer who is initially chosen to defend a captured Russian spy during the peak of the Cold War. This plays out as a real lose-lose situation for Donovan, as the US justice system isn't intending to actually give the Russian spy a fair trial. Furthermore, Donovan and his family's image will be blemished as he is defending an enemy of the state. Eventually, he is even tasked to negotiate a trade between this Russian spy and a captured American spy plane pilot and a third party captive from the DDR. With all these political standpoints to consider, it is extremely difficult to juggle with these numerous perspectives in a film and not lose its direction. Luckily, Spielberg is a master at it. Long gone are the days of Spielberg blockbusters and battle epics. He now carefully chooses his projects, telling the stories he wants to in the way he sees fit. With a resume as glorious as his, it is a privilege he has more than earned. Spielberg knows the tone he wants for this movie and keeps it consistent throughout the film.
The pace of the movie is rather slow, but consistent nonetheless. There is an exhilarating airplane sequence in the middle of the film, but that is where the high-stake action ends. The movie mostly keeps it tension with timely placed images and scenes that show the possible risk of nuclear war at the time.
What really carries the movie is the presence of Tom Hanks. In his fourth collaboration with Spielberg, Hanks is perfectly cast as Jim Donovan who is the heart and moral compass throughout the movie. His performance brings warmth and charisma to the character, depicting him as a devoted father and lawyer. An excellently written character. Unfortunately, it's the only character to receive such treatment. The screenplay, which is written by the legendary Coen brothers, is cleverly composed as it carefully meanders its way around possible pitfalls in misunderstanding political and judicial regulations. Character depth however, seems to be lacking. Many characters Hanks interacts with are fairly shallow, serving mostly as sources of exposition to further the story. None are really memorable even though a stellar cast was available (Alan Alda, Amy Ryan etc.) This all makes Mark Rylance's performance all the more impressive, as he plays the Russian spy Rudolf Abel. He is depicted as a stoic man, a talented artist who enjoys classical music and is of loyal service to his country. At first he seems a bit odd and awkward, with no real social ties to anyone. But keep in mind that these people usually make the best spies. Mark Rylance has few dialogue to work with, but expresses himself in brilliant subtlety through facial expressions. He and Tom Hanks have nice chemistry together, as they learn to appreciate each other as honorable men who stick to their principles after being put in these unfortunate circumstances. It's a shame that he is pretty underused in this movie.
Finally, a real strong point of this movie is how visually stunning it looks. Spielberg's longtime cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, takes the Cold War era and films in it a cold somber tone. He uses an autumn-like color pallet and alongside excellent lighting and near-perfect scene composition, makes every frame look like an oil painting. In addition, Bridge of Spies also contains a delightful score from Thomas Newman, which only starts 30 minutes into the movie, and has gorgeous set pieces which really transport you back to the 1950s.
In summary, Bridge of Spies is a skillfully made film and a great example of how Steven Spielberg has not lost his touch in brilliantly directing movies. Tom Hanks and Mark Rylance give brilliant performances, but the rather slow pace, lack of character depth in supporting actors and use of political jargon and exposition can feel a bit dull at times. Not one of Spielberg's best, but that still means it's probably going to be nominated for an Oscar.