Stuck between a rock and a hard place

Tom Hanks in a scene from "Bridge of Spies." Image courtesy DreamWorks Pictures.

“Bridge of Spies” is a film directed by Steven Spielberg, which means it's guaranteed to be at least a good film (he’s the Meryl Streep of directing; even his lesser work is well made). It stars Tom Hanks, which grants it a vital everyman touch. It takes place during the Cold War era, which gives it a level of import and the opportunity to explain what that entailed to people who didn't live through it. (Something that will undoubtedly occur for the post 9/11 generation within the next two decades.) It's also co-written by the Coen brothers, which means surprisingly very little when the two men aren't behind the camera.

So what does one get when all the ingredients above are combined? A perfectly fine but not overly inspired movie, one whose second half is infinitely more engaging than the heavily and obnoxiously didactic front half.

One of the fun things about “Bridge of Spies” is the title is literal, an event the film builds up to throughout two-plus hours of negotiating and Hanks battling a wicked case of the sniffles. Before all of that happens though, Hanks is just simple insurance attorney James Donovan, a pretty steady family man dragged into Cold War politics when he's forced to defend accused/actual Soviet spy Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance). The trial is a farce – the court of public opinion convicts Rylance before he sets foot in a courtroom – although Hanks defends his client all the way to the Supreme Court, much to the chagrin of his wife (Amy Ryan, given precious little to do beyond pouting and fretting).

The circumstances change greatly though after American pilot Francis Powers (Austin Stowell) is captured by the Soviets during a mission, offering an opportunity to negotiate a trade of spies between the two powers. Hanks is recruited by the government to negotiate the arrangement Berlin, but the wicket gets even stickier when American student Frederic Pryor (Will Rogers) is arrested and imprisoned by German forces in East Berlin just after the wall is erected. Hanks, being the good guy that he is, adds Pryor to the deal – he goes for the two-for-one special – and has to navigate egos, subterfuge and international politics to bring two young men back to their home country and the apple pies waiting for them.

“Bridge of Spies” isn't quite that jingoistic, but it very much embraces the virtues of the country, especially in comparison to how the Soviets and Germans treat the American prisoners. Even if the trial is a proverbial horse-and-pony show, Rylance still has a very, very good attorney defending him, more than either Rogers and Stowell could offer. Americans simply don't treat their enemy combatants that poorly, at least according to the overly optimistic logic tossed out in the film. It makes for a rather strange discord though when “Bridge of Spies” moralizes about how susceptible the country is to falling into fear and paranoia, and how easy it is to drop the pretenses of civility and righteousness when it's convenient.

Then again, the filmmakers ensure the United States' side of the conflict has at least one good man like Hanks' Donovan around to ensure the values the nations was founded on remain in place and are defended even when the prevailing atmosphere is against them. It's why the role of Jim Donovan is the ultimate Tom Hanks; one of the most  likable actors in the history of film is the moral compass in a during a time and atmosphere that desperately needs one. Jim Donovan is an everyman, and Tom Hanks is the everyman's everyman.

Hanks keeps his moral fortitude through the first half – in essence a mediocre history lesson – that steps up to a much more intense and far more interesting second half filled with intrigue. The danger in “Bridge of Spies” starts once Hanks heads to foreign soil and the man becomes completely out of his element. Spielberg does a tremendous job reinforcing how isolated Hanks is, and thus drags the audience into the quagmire along with him: Every corner in East Berlin has its own dangers, every politician and lawyer has agenda, and nobody can really protect Hanks through all of this.

A film more like the second half of “Bridge of Spies” would easily place among the best of the year, but the filmmakers spend so much time shaking their collective finger at American paranoia – both in 1950s and modern times via the transitive property – via the benefits of hindsight that it drags down the final product. “Bridge of Spies” is in effect two films, and it doesn't spend nearly enough time on the more interesting one.

Review: Four out of Five Stars

Click here to see the trailer.

Rating: PG-13

Run time: 142 minutes

Genre: Drama

Ask Away

Target audience: Cold War enthusiasts and people who want to see Tom Hanks do Tom Hanks things.

Take the whole family?: Aside from a hint of naughty language, there isn't anything to make this inappropriate for anyone younger than 11 except a lack of interest.

Theater or Netflix?: Matinee screening if only to check out the Oscar buzz.

Academy Award odds?: Pick your tracking site and they all have “Bridge of Spies” landing a slew of nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography and other technical nominations. Tom Hanks probably won't get one for Best Actor – that field is wicked deep – but Mark Rylance is on track to get a well deserved placement on the Best Supporting Actor list.

Watch this as well?: This is a film a recommend a lot, but “The Iron Giant” is an engaging reflection on the Cold War era (including the old “Duck and Cover” cartoon), and it has a giant robot to boot. Also worth a look is the original “The Manchurian Candidate,” featuring a killer performance from Jessica Fletcher herself, Angela Lansbury.