There was a time when Steven Spielberg was known for making family entertainment, action films, and fantasy films aimed at pleasing a broad audience looking to live out the wonders of the world through the eyes of a master of films. Then in the early 1990s, he made the film Schindler’s List, and for a while, he changed, shifting his focus to more mature themes, often about or tied in some way, to World War II. These films were not often as hard as Schindler’s List but were not quite for the mass-market family audience he had been targeting for much of the 1980s. For some, this has been a letdown as they cling to their childhood memories of E.T., Raiders of the Lost Ark, or Jurassic Park. His more recent films have mostly been critical darlings and had audience appeal but lacked the magic of his earlier work. For many who only cared about being entertained, that was a downgrade.
But Spielberg is one of those directors who grows as his career continues through the years. You may not like that, but that doesn’t make it a bad thing. Looking at his more recent films, you can see a man whose interests have matured, and he has managed to pedal this change into a successful career as a more serious director. That doesn’t mean he is incapable of revisiting his old style; he managed to direct the pop-culture overload that was Ready Player One in 2018, and, while that isn’t a great film, it has the flair and energy of classic Spielberg. One thing we can guarantee is we never know what is coming next for Steven Spielberg.
In 2015, Spielberg collaborated with Mark Rylance for the first time. The project was a Cold War-era political drama biopic about a Russian spy being exchanged for an American spy and the lawyer who made it all possible. This plot may sound dull, but in actuality, it is a fascinating look at a time in world history where we really were in fear that at any moment, Russia would drop the bomb, and we would be facing nuclear annihilation. I remember in the 1980s being taught to duck under my desk in case of a bomb strike, and I lived in Montana, the last place Russia would be dropping the bomb. I also lived in a time where, while the Cold War was still a thing, it had become increasingly unlikely that anything serious would actually happen. Ronald Reagan was in contact with Gorbachev, and the Berlin Wall was soon to come crumbling down. This film takes place in the 1950s, a much different time in world politics, and that threat was very much a real thing to be worried about.
This film is a collaboration between Steven Spielberg and the Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan. Yet as I watched this film, I was struck by how little of the typical Coen humor I found in it. It’s there, but it is far more subtle than I am used to seeing in a film with Joel and Ethan Coen’s names on it. Instead, what I found was a film that had a wry sense of humor but was also very reverently handled, especially when it came to Mark Rylance’s character, Rudolf Abel, a man with an uncertain background that was found to be spying on behalf of the Russian government. This film balances the horrible with the humorous, making its point without getting too dark. One of the funniest scenes in the entire film involves Donovan’s son and his over-zealous doomsday preparations.
Part of what makes this film work and keeps it interesting is that we like Abel so much. Sure, he’s a Russian spy, but he has a nobility to his character that makes him likable. Attorney James B. Donovan (Tom Hanks) takes on his case, reluctantly at first, but quickly sees in Abel a man that is loyal to his country and not deserving of being executed for his crimes against the United States. Donovan rightfully envisions a situation where we may need to exchange Abel for an American spy captured by the Russians, something that is initially scoffed at by the judicial system. But Donovan has a background in insurance law and knows that it is always best to have a backup in case of an emergency.
That comes in the form of Francis Gary Powers (Austin Stowell), a reconnaissance pilot shot down while flying a high-altitude spy plane over East Germany. Powers fails to utilize his suicide poison before capture, and now both sides of the Cold War have a prisoner that may know stuff the other side doesn’t want exposed. Through a coded letter to Donovan, ostensibly from Abel’s wife in Europe, the word is sent that Russia is willing to negotiate a prison exchange. The CIA, or any other official government employee, cannot be involved, so Donovan is enlisted again, this time to travel to Germany to negotiate the exchange. There is one big wrinkle, though. During the building of the Berlin Wall, American economics student Frederic Pryor (Will Rogers) has been arrested while trying to cross the border between East and West Berlin. Donovan insists the exchange includes Pryor, two for one, something the CIA is strongly against.
Steven Spielberg has a handful of actors that he likes bringing back over and over again. This would be the first time he worked with Mark Rylance, but it would be far from the last time. Likewise, Tom Hanks has become a staple for Spielberg films. Seeing the two of them together in this film, it is easy to see why. Mark is playing Abel like an old man, harmless except for what he has in his head. This is not a man who poses any physical danger, and not just because he is not physically imposing. When he is first arrested, he is in his underwear, and we can see that he is diminished, unable to put up much of a fight. But he is also smart and a fast thinker. He finds a way to destroy a coded message he got prior to being arrested without calling attention to him doing it. He never shows fear or concern, either. Donovan comments on that while the two are in trial, and the response he gets from Abel is “Would it help?” This simple question comes back later in the film, too, reemphasizing the character of Abel. They may be on opposite sides of the Cold War, but they are both loyal and honorable citizens of their respective countries.
Tom Hanks is the right choice for Donovan, too. Hanks exudes the humble, everyman who is confident while also having his heart in the right place. It would be hard for him to play an outright villain because his off-screen persona is just so nice and approachable. Donovan gets assigned the role of defending Abel despite it being a foregone conclusion that Abel is guilty. The idea is to prove to the world that America is a land of laws and due process, even for foreign spies. Donovan rightfully guesses that by taking this case he will become the second most hated man in America behind Abel himself, and he is right. He gets angry stares from people on the subways, a group of angry men shoot through the windows of his house, almost hitting his daughter, and things only get worse when he successfully argues the judge into giving Abel a life sentence instead of the death penalty. Donovan is a man who understands people and how their minds think, even when those people are from Russia. He’s also a man with conviction and a good moral compass. Through a combination of his good nature and a good instinct for reading and understanding people, he is able to negotiate the exchange, securing both prisoners in exchange for Abel.
As a film, this shouldn’t work as well as it does. A movie about jury trials and prisoner exchanges should be a rather dull subject, especially when it runs more than two hours. Fortunately, we are in the hands of a master storyteller and a cast firing on all cylinders. It seems shortsighted that Tom Hanks didn’t get an Oscar nomination for this, but perhaps the Academy voters had felt he had been nominated enough recently. Mark Rylance, however, did get nominated and took home the statue for this very nuanced, yet pivotal performance. His would be the only win Bridge of Spies would get at the Oscars, but it was an important win.
Bridge of Spies is a real delight to watch and still holds up after a decade since its initial release. It has elements of foreign intrigue, nails the period details, and gives us a real feel for what life was like at the height of the Cold War. My only complaint is that it plays its parallel themes once too often when, right before the credits roll, we see Donovan riding the subway again, seeing the same people from before who are now lookin at him with admiration rather than scorn. As he looks out the window, he sees some kids hopping the fences between yards and remembers seeing some men trying to hop the wall between East and West Berlin and getting gunned down. It feels like Spielberg is trying to hammer home the parallels and, in this case, it was a little too on the nose.
Academy Award Nominations:
Best Picture: Kristie Macosko Krieger, Marc Platt, and Steven Spielberg
Best Supporting Actor: Mark Rylance (won)
Best Original Screenplay: Matt Charman, Joel Coen, and Ethan Coen
Best Original Score: Thomas Newman
Best Production Design: Adam Stockhausen, Bernhard Henrich, and Rena DeAngelo
Best Sound Mixing: Drew Kunin, Andy Nelson, and Gary Rydstrom
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Release Date: October 16, 2015
Running Time: 141 minutes
Rated PG-13
Starring: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Amy Ryan, and Alan Alda
Directed By: Steven Spielberg
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