Standing Man is the subtle bad ass in this great Spielberg movie

Rating: 8/10 (8 December 2015)

Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg have worked together on previous occasion - the most successful collaboration being 1999's Saving Private Ryan. Whilst that was an all-out, realistic, intense war film, this is a quiet, contemplative war film.
The film hangs its chances of success on the performances of Hanks and experienced Shakespearian actor Mark Rylance; both of them are great in different ways. Hanks is an everyman character, which he's become accustomed to, but allows for moments of humour present in many of his quips, and in a scene where he slowly deconstructs a CIA agent for prying into his relationship with Abel (the spy). He doesn't give as emotional or urgent a performance as he did in Captain Phillips, Cast Away, Forrest Gump or Philadelphia, but this certainly is a great standalone piece of work. As Rudolph Abel, Mark Rylance is so subdued that it's understandable why the real life Abel was so successful a spy; the way he quietly goes about his duties, commands the people holding him captive, and how he stays unbelievably calm in spite of the seriousness of the situation is almost boss like. At times his understating was slightly awkward, but the overall effect was very effective.
The production values are really high in this movie, and each place feels different; America is warm and bright in colour, East Germany is colder - and has a cooler palate. The distinction emphasises the Everyman being a hero and strengthens the film. Some might say it could be conceived as pro-American, I view it as good directing and strengthening the story.
The script is great, overall. It has a lot of information to unload about all the main players in the story - James Donovan, Abel, and also Gary Powers and Frederick Prior - and it does handle it effectively. It does play a little bit to Biopic traits in the structure and pacing, but the focus on Abel and Donovan keeps us invested and interested. In the catalogue of films by Hanks and Spielberg, this movie stands at the higher end of those scales. It's a great, quiet war film, with a great, quiet, resilient character at the centre.