Nuanced

Rating: 9/10 (31 January 2016)

Especially with his adult entries, Steven Spielberg has made a claim for being perhaps America's most elegant filmmaker, with shrewd choices in material coupled with effective storytelling skills highlighted by precise framing and expert use of tracking cameras (in collaboration with his superb cinematographer Janusz Kaminski). "Bridge Of Spies", while not quite reaching the Hitchcockian suspense and psychological depth of "Munich", nonetheless is a very fine example of Spielberg working with commitment and intensity to provide the mature film-goer a satisfying, thoughtful experience. Here, the Cold-War plot (based on true events) is fairly cut-and-dried: a Russian spy (Mark Rylance), unsuccessfully defended by attorney Tom Hanks, is used as a negotiating tool to retrieve downed spy pilot Francis Gary Powers (Austin Stowell) and, against the wishes of the CIA spook (Scott Shepherd) fronting the mission in Berlin, a student trapped on the other side of the Wall (Will Rogers). Working from a beautifully written script by Matt Charman and the Coen Brothers (supressing their smarm for a change), Spielberg underplays the action, working off body and facial nuance and well-timed, eloquent dialogue. The performers act with grace, particularly Hanks, continuing his transformation into the elder statesman of Hollywood film, and Rylance, whose placidity in the face of abandonment and death is appealing and entertaining. The only thing marring the film is Thomas Newton's score: while understated, it appears at inappropriate moments, distracting from the action on screen. But this is a minor quibble. The overall result is plausible and accessible--a very admirable addition to the impressive yet under-appreciated Spielberg canon.