Australian Odeon
Bridge of Spies
Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Amy Ryan
★★★★
At the height of the Cold War in 1957, insurance lawyer James B. Donovan (Tom Hanks) is given the thankless task of defending accused Soviet spy Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance). Believing the American justice system to be one of the primary differences between the United States and the Soviet Union, Donovan launches into a spirited legal defence of Abel, creating tensions with his family and co-workers. After a U-2 spyplane, piloted by Francis Gary Powers, is shot down while photographing Soviet territory, the idea of exchanging Powers for Abel results in Donovan being sent to Berlin to negotiate the exchange. Matters are complicatyed further by the detaining of an American student caught in East Berlin in the midst of the wall's construction. Donovan must negotiate between the Soviets, East Germans and Americans to try and bring home both men.
The film unfolds in two distinct parts; one as a courtroom drama, the other as a Cold War espionage thriller and both work equally well. The first half is distinguished by the standout performance of Mark Rylance as captured spy Rudolf Abel. The audience knows from the outset that Abel is indeed a Soviet spy, so Spielberg cleverly does not waste time posing ‘is he or isn’t he?’ questions, which allows the relationship between Abel and Donovan to develop. Reportedly true to life, the pair come to see each other as equally dedicated to their respective causes, allowing respect and even admiration to bloom. In the hands of another actor, the character of Abel could very easily have been bland and inscruitable, but Rylance manages to bring a quiet humour to Abel's stoicism, repeatedly responding to Donovan's queiries "You don't seem nervous" by saying "Would it help?".
The film does stumble in the transition from courtroom to espionage, with a slightly rushed introduction of the U-2 spyplane its' pilots, or 'drivers' as they are called in the film, along with subsequent downing of Powers' plane setting the films second half in motion. The short shrift given to the character of Powers means the audience has no chance to invest in him (the same goes for the imprisoned American student) so the film is reliant entirely on Donovan navigating the trecherous landscape of US/Soviet relations, which is where the film manages to pick up again.
Hanks and Spielberg are always a dependable team, and Bridge of Spies delivers the requisite intrique and drama of a Cold War thriller, but the true stand out of the film is Rylance, who has to be a lock for a Best Supporting Actor nomination come the Oscars.