Bridge of Spies

This is a complicated film coming from a complicated time in American history. In 1957, Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance) is caught spying for the Russians. He needs a lawyer so the US government passes it off to a law firm out of New York, where it falls into the lap of insurance lawyer, Jim Donovan (Tom Hanks) who takes his job way more seriously than anyone ever anticipated. He tries to get the evidence thrown out because it was illegally obtained. Americans on the train hate him, tossing him dirty looks. People shoot at his house, scaring the crap out of his wife and children (Amy Ryan, Eve Hewson, Noah Schnapp and Jillian Lebling) but everyone is entitled to a defense. He even successfully gets the harsh judge to spare Abel's life so they can have some insurance later, for, perhaps, a prisoner exchange. Then we get to the meat of the film.
Donovan dangerously travels to East Berlin in 1960, just as the wall is being built, where it is dangerous to cross the borders. Okay, it is dangerous to get from the East Side (where the Soviets rule) to the West Side (where the American, British, and French rule). Here, Donovan is set to negotiate a trade where the US gets a pilot, Gary Powers (Austin Stowell), also a spy, taking pictures of Russia and will hand over Abel. But there is a twist and Donovan gets greedy. Just before he lands, an American student studying economics is captured and Donovan wants this guy, Frederic Pryor (Will Rogers) out also.
It isn't easy, as the Abel family lawyer is dreadful, not caring much about his clients. An East German street gang steals Donovan's fancy, warm coat and he spends a night in prison. He is flying by the seat of his pants, but ultimately, he gets the job done, on a bridge, making the title of the film fit. The exchange is made. Sure, the CIA isn't really talking to Powers because he was never supposed to be captured, he was intended to kill himself instead, but alas, though it wasn't for lack of effort and the Soviets barely make eye contact with Abel, but each are home. The Americans made out better, in my opinion, two young men in return for an older man. Still, I doubt their families care about the semantics of the whole thing. They are just thrilled to get their loved ones home. Both Powers and Pryor would go on to great things. Pryor is still living. Donovan may have lied to his family originally, as he had to, but they are shocked that his little business trip turned into something so great. President Kennedy would later use him for more negotiations with Cuba, rescuing more than nine thousand people after the Bay of Pigs, when he was only sent down to bring one thousand home.
I also liked the family dinner scene toward the beginning of the film and the little interactions between Donovan and his young associate, Doug (Billy Magnussen) who was forced to work despite saying he had a dinner date and then eldest daughter Carol furious that she had been stood up. Yet, though Donovan may have been upset at first, he lets Doug get in the clear by having him over for dinner and showing his daughter that Doug had a good reason for missing the date.
This film captures the stark, depressing East German by sucking the colors out of the film, with the sun never shining, cold steeping from the characters' skin, compared to the warmth of the America, homes filled with knick knacks proving that America is richer, in more ways than one.
The performances are also great, with Hanks and Rylance, mainly a stage actor before this film, as the stand outs. Sure, Ryan and Alan Alda are also great, but their roles are barely more than cameos. Hanks and Rylance, with their steady performances, should both be in award consideration for later this year.
I am glad that the Cold War is behind us, with the pointless duck and cover drills. But the world is still a dangerous place. Sure, duck and cover drills might be behind us but intruder or shooter alerts exist, bringing the danger even closer to home. And we know how hopeless the duck and cover drills were, when if a bomb was dropped, you would have no time to duck and cover; you would die instantly. Still, Donovan was just happy that in America, boys could climb over a fence while you couldn't have done that in East Berlin.
This film captures a troubling time, but one that should never be forgotten. Grade: A-