Movie – Bridge of Spies (8½/10)
Based on the true story an American insurance lawyer, James Donovan, who is given the extraordinary task of negotiating the release of an American pilot caught spying and held as hostage by the Russians in East Germany during the cold war. It’s another film where the Americans are not shown in a particularly good light, except for the one played by Hanks.Previously, he had been asked to represent an English-born, suspected Russian spy living in New York. Donovan endures being the most hated man in the country – well as hated as Rudolph Abel (Mark Rylance), the accused – and his family’s lives are threatened.Despite Donovan being a well-respected professional, no-one expected him to go to the lengths he did to defend a suspected traitor to America, especially when he asked for an acquittal due to insufficient evidence. Abel didn’t admit to any guilt and is spared the death sentence by the argument he may be needed as a bargaining chip in the future. And so the story begins.
Donovan finds himself with surprisingly little American government support. He crosses from West to East Germany on his own, witnessing all sorts of atrocities, in freezing snow while suffering a cold.It may not be factually true – it is based on actual events – but it was startling to see the Berlin wall being constructed as people were still trying to get to the relative liberty of West Germany. All I could think of was the wall coming down in 1989 and seeing Checkpoint Charlie on my visit to the city a few years ago.
‘Would it help?’
If they’re making a story of your life, you’d be happy for Tom Hanks to play you. However, it feels unusual for the Coen Brothers to be involved in a mainstream yet warming story like this. I’m guessing the fact that my favourite line was used more than once to good effect by Abel, ‘would it help?’, came from them.Tom Hank’s coat should have got its own credit, such a starring role it had. Along with the heart-warming scenes, there are tense ones, involving the aforementioned coat. It was wonderful to watch the story of two men on the opposition sides of the law, on the opposite sides of the wall and the opposite sides of politics who have enough respect treat one another as human beings first. As always, a Tom Hanks movie starts at 8/10 and I didn’t find anything to dislike to bring that score down.8½/10Smile factor 8/10