Based on historical events that happened during the Cold War era when an American U-2 spy jet was shot down in Soviet air space along with its pilot, the stirring thriller “Bridge of Spies” brings to life the crisis that raised tensions between the USA and the Soviets during such volatile times.
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It is, of course, very important that he get the best defense, this being America and all, and that’s where Tom Hanks come in.
His screenplay, co-written with the illustrious Coens, splendidly evokes the “Reds under the bed” paranoia of Eisenhower-era America. His 1993 Oscar-winning Holocaust film “Schindler’s List” also earned the director Germany’s Federal Cross of Merit. “Bridge of Spies” will be in theaters everywhere a week from Friday. This is an essential strategy in all that follows, considering that “Bridge of Spies” depends on our believing that Donovan and Abel are the most noble men in the film, each committed to their respective ideals: in Donovan’s case, “what makes us Americans” (the Constitution), and in Abel’s, doing whatever he’s told to undermine it.
Also worthy of serious awards consideration is the script by British dramatist Matt Charman and filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen, It subtly balances arguments that we need to provide civil liberties to even our enemies with Hanks’ dry humor – as his character navigates Cold War hysteria at home as well as the political agendas of the Soviet and East German governments, which became tangled when the East Germans arrest an American student on spy charges. Donovan later arranged Abel’s swap with captured U2 pilot Gary Powers. By association, Donovan is reviled too, the more so when he protests that the hallowed American justice system is failing his client.
But Hanks does this sort of thing so well that it’s mostly a pleasure to go along for the ride.
Bridge of Spies is released on November 27. There’s a laughably unsubtle example right at the end when Donovan, back in New York, looks out of a train window and sees a bunch of carefree kids jumping over a fence, reminding him of a ghastly scene at the Berlin Wall. Spielberg knows where to draw the line, however, maintaining a measure of hindsight-enhanced criticism amid his Hollywood fantasy (the CIA’s willingness to sacrifice Pryor seems especially damning in an otherwise generally Pollyanna-like portrayal).
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There aren’t many insurance claim lawyers whose stories have inspired major feature films, and attracted Hollywood heavyweights such as Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and the Coen brothers. And the high-angle climax could be something out of a nouveau Western, as Hanks saunters out onto the snow-covered Glienicke Bridge – the hand-off spot that lends the film its name – and brokers the deal in person.
