With subtle messaging and outstanding acting, Spielberg's "Bridge of Spies" knocks it out of the park

Rating: 10/10 (16 October 2015)

In my mind, there are only two kinds of movie: good and bad. What makes a good movie good depends on a variety of factors that boil down to one thing: does it satisfy the needs of the audience? If you go to an action movie, chances are you go into it expecting many things to blow up and not a bunch of romantic interludes. If you get a lot of booms, then you are satisfied, or if you get a lot of romance, you will probably be dissatisfied.
"Bridge of Spies" is a very satisfying movie.
This is not an action film by any stretch of the imagination, mind you. Only three or four booms occur and only a handful of gunshots are seen. This is not a spy film, either. True, the main points of the film centers around two "spies." For those not well versed in history, here's the set-up:
In 1957, Rudolph Abel, played very simply yet effectively by Mark Rylance, is arrested in New York by the FBI on charges of espionage. Appointed to his defense is Tom Hanks playing James Donovan, an insurance lawyer with a good family struggling to raise his children in the midst of the Cold War atmosphere of paranoia.
In 1960, Francis Gary Powers is shot down flying a U-2 spy plane over the Soviet Union and is captured alive. In 1961, the Berlin Wall is erected, completely separating East Berlin from West. Finally, in 1962, a prisoner exchange is arranged for Powers and Abel in Berlin, on the Glienicke Bridge, known as "the bridge of spies."
Donovan is given the unenviable task of defending a self-admitted spy, putting him in a position much like that of John Adams who took the case of the British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre. Hated by his own people for defending values that everyone in America should value, Hanks' Donovan must wrestle with his morals in the face of people who have bought into their own propaganda and forgotten what is truly at stake.
Spielberg puts the values of America at the heart of this movie, but doesn't rub it in your face. On the contrary, through the simple but powerful character interactions and very simple background music, Spielberg lets the audience come to the conclusion for themselves the results of sticking to your values, even when you don't want to, with implications that easily apply today (think Guantanamo.)
For those interested in history, the set directors did a wonderful job showing Cold War-era America and Berlin, Berlin especially. It's amazing to think that even 17 years after the end of World War II, East Berlin still had large sections of the city in ruins.
Don't look for anything fancy, but don't look at anything at face value. Appreciate the simple yet smart repartee that Hanks shares with characters such as Abel, FBI agents, and Soviet and East German bureaucrats. Reflect on the messages that this film sends in parallel images seen throughout the film. Hopefully, you will come out of the theater feeling ... satisfied.