Bridge of Spies — Blue Fairy Film Blog

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and 20th Century Fox

Steven Spielberg. Tom Hanks. Period piece. Sound familiar? I mean, it definitely is, but this film from the dynamic duo proves to be more than meets the eye. Based around the true story of Brooklyn insurance lawyer James B. Donovan taking on the case of reputed spy Rudolf Abel, the story is set among Cold War tensions at their height, shortly after the Rosenberg trial. Tasked with helping Abel gain constitutional rights against a country at arms with the Soviets, it is a film filled to the brim with intelligent discourse and a penchant for reflective empathy.

Because this is a Spielberg venture, with Hanks in the lead role, and with a screenplay by the Coen brothers, it makes sense that this film be nominated. The nominations it did garner were appropriate, but it is Rylance’s performance that feels beyond warranted. Rylance is most famous for being the first artistic director for the Globe Theater in London and is a classically trained actor, working mostly in the UK. He looks much like the subject, Rudolf Abel, and gives a strangely stoic performance as the supposed Soviet spy. His multi-layered character work weaves a portrait of a man bound by honor, patriotic much like any person on American soil. The main theme of the film is that though we have enemies out in the world, and trust is minimal, we are all humans that can connect over a variety of things whether political, social, or emotional.

The Cold War has been handled effectively only a handful of times. If you’re fighting with me in your head, remember “Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull”? “Red Dawn”? “Rambo: First Blood Part II”? Yeah, I thought so. This film isn’t sentimental about patriotism, and it doesn’t demonize people who were. The public at large is mostly made up of adults turned into scared children, teaching the next generation to duck and cover, chanting hateful words at spies, and asking for them to die for their espionage. People are people in this film, but at the same time certain generational issues with things like class, politics, and the idea of communism are situational. Alan Alda plays a lawyer who has Donovan take on the case so Abel’s rights aren’t violated, but doesn’t understand why he would want to appeal the conviction after the fact. There are so many layers to this film, and it’s rare that media deals with issues of our history without using kid gloves.

Overall period pieces are usually very black and white and minimal in scope. If you’re dealing with real people you have to try to make their exploits interesting while using artistic license to cobble together a story that generates an emotional response from the audience. This film created a hopeful, democratic message for the future, as well as a film that tells a truly wonderful story about the tension of the Cold War. Mostly I hope Rylance takes home an award, but if the film wins in any other category I be happy a film I truly enjoyed and thought had a powerful message was recognized.