Bridge of Spies Review

In From The Cold

Bridge of Spies

Director: Steven Spielberg

Stars: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Joshua Harto, Amy Ryan

Bridge of Spies has been out in the US since the middle of Oct but we have had to wait six weeks over here to see it. Spielberg’s career has certainly been an eclectic one, with a CV that includes Indiana Jones and ET on one hand and weightier material like Munich and Lincoln on the other. In fact, it seems that he favours the more cerebral these days and Bridge of Spies, about an insurance lawyer James B Donovan (played by the ever-reliable Tom Hanks) who is asked to defend a Soviet spy Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance) and then arrange for his exchange with captured US air force pilot in East Germany. Bridge of Spies mostly feels like the sort of film that Hollywood just doesn’t make anymore: if it were made in the 1950s, it would have Jimmy Stewart or Cary Grant as the lawyer.

Abel (Rylance) with James Donovan (Tom Hanks)

James Donovan (Hanks) with his wife Mary (Amy Ryan)

Bridge of Spies mostly feels like the sort of film that Hollywood just doesn’t make anymore: if it were made in the 1950s, it would have Jimmy Stewart or Cary Grant as the lawyer.

It looks beautiful and the performances from Hanks and Rylance are very good indeed. The only thing that prevents it from being a great film rather than a very good one is the slightly odd tone. The Coen Brothers were brought in on the script and so we have some humourous interchanges throughout. Some of these work, particularly the scenes with Hanks displaying his nouse as a lawyer. But sometimes they jar, reducing the dramatic impact of the film overall. This is a minor quibble though and Bridge of Spies is a quality drama with Hanks likeable in the main role, bringing a certain kind of gravitas that he does very well and Rylance is excellent as Soviet spy Abel. It is impressive that Spielberg, in a career that spans over five decades, is still capable of making quality films and Bridge of Spies sits very comfortably with work like Munich and Lincoln.

JOEL MEADOWS

Steven Spielberg Director’s Collection [Blu-ray] [1971]