Review of Bridge of Spies (2015) by Arlene S — 17 Jan 2016

For this viewer, "Bridge of Spies" renews a tired and over-tread time period and subgenre. Post WWII/Early Cold War espionage is brought dazzlingly back to life as New York insurance attorney James Donovan (Tom Hanks) is elected by US Government officials to defend a captured Soviet spy, Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance). A gesture made more for illusion of justice in a time of fear and propaganda. A move that comes at a personal cost to Donovan and soon finds him drawn into larger events that pull him from the heated halls of American justice into the freezing streets of a Berlin embroiled in political strife at the inception of the Berlin Wall.

Steven Spielberg recalls for us his ability to wring tension out of what might have passed quietly below our radars in less capable hands. Making momentous of the minuscule.

Tom Hanks turns a performance that should surprise no one, with Mark Rylance filling in the gaps with disarming quirk and poignance. Matt Charman's scripting is as tight as a drum, likely due in part to the involvement of Joel and Ethan Coen working beside him.

Regardless of palate, "Bridge of Spies" is not to be missed.