Bridge of Spies
Studio: Dreamworks
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Oct 19, 2015
Web Exclusive
It’s 1957, and successful Brooklyn lawyer James Donovan (Tom Hanks) finds himself assigned to a precarious defendant: Rudolph Abel, a man accused of being a Russian spy. The task does not win Donovan favor in the public eye, and he soon finds CIA agents lurking around street corners. His pastel-clad wife (Amy Ryan) pontificates on the harm he’s doing to his family and, potentially, his country, by taking on the case. Still, in the United States, anyone who stands accused of a crime is entitled to a defense. The thing is, this gentleman is almost certainly not an American citizen, and was here to do harm to the country. Is he entitled justice? But isn’t the universal value of justice what makes an American?
It’s a debate had again and again in Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies, which is basically two movies: one that’s not quite a spy thriller and not quite a courtroom drama filled with tired, 1950s caricatures and 1930s platitudes. Another, set entirely in 1960 Berlin, shows Donovan navigating a tricky negotiation with the Russians, bartering Abel for two American prisoners: Francis Gary Powers, the downed pilot of the famed U-2 incident, and some random grad student who wandered into East Berlin and one day found himself trapped behind a wall. The screenplay, co-written by the Coen Brothers, snaps and muses at times, but is mostly a mess, lacking cohesion, suspense, and surprise. Their token irreverence might be misplaced with Spielberg who veers into a Capraesque sanctimony that stops just short of jingoism. Surprisingly, Americans and Russians are equal opportunity assholes in Spielberg’s Cold War—it’s just that Americans were less likely to build walls.
Author rating: 4.5/10
Average reader rating: 7/10
Most Recent
- Feeder @ Rock City, Nottingham, UK, March 25, 2024 (Review) — Feeder
- Bernard Butler (ex-Suede) Announces First Solo Album in 25 Years, Shares New Song “Camber Sands” (News) — Bernard Butler, Jessie Buckley & Bernard Butler, Suede, McAlmont & Butler
- Arab Strap Share Video for New Song “Strawberry Moon” (News) — Arab Strap
- Hovvdy Share New Song “Make Ya Proud” (News) — Hovvdy
- Pond Announce New Album, Share Video for New Song “(I’m) Stung” (News) — POND
Comments
Submit your comment
October 26th 2015
6:47am
OBSERVE
INTEL run Hollywood is BURYING the awesomely relevant
65th Anniversary of the KOREAN WAR to bring us
decades OFF point, dismal side shows - - -like this.