Marquee Attraction: Bridge of Spies
Release Date: October 16, 2015
Budget: $40 million
Domestic Box Office Gross: $72,313,754
Worldwide Box Office Gross: $165,478,348
Plot Synopsis
James Donovan is a successful lawyer who works in insurance, until a fateful meeting at his firm. The US government has captured a spy, Rudolf Abel, and they are about to put him on trial. They need a competent lawyer to represent him, and the task has been dropped on Donovan.
Accepting the task, Jim plows into the case and does his best to represent Abel. Though he is unable to free his client, Donovan successfully persuades the judge to keep Abel alive for the future. As Donovan puts it to the judge, perhaps one day the US will need to trade a spy for a spy.
When Francis Gary Powers is shot down over Soviet territory in the U2 spy plane, Donovan’s hunch is proven correct. The Russians even make overtures to Donovan for an exchange and with the backing of the government (unofficially) and the CIA, James Donovan makes his way to Berlin to negotiate a trade.
The problem for Donovan is that with no help, and his own intellect, he is facing an enemy with multiple personalities, and no one person in charge. It will take all of Donovan’s skill, intellect, and luck to save Francis Gary Powers, and avoid a potential real-life fight in the dark days of the Cold War.
Standing Ovation
Tom Hanks is outstanding. He gives one of his best performances in years. Not only is he very believable as Donovan, but he brings his maturity and intellect to the Donovan role that allows the viewers to root for his success. Hanks burns up the screen as being the last boy scout amongst a world of traitors and spies that cannot be trusted.
Mark Rylance manages to make the audience care for a bad guy. His Abel is a spy, but we watch the clarity and emotional range of Rylance’s performance that makes his performance a one-of-a-kind effort in cinema. Rylance deserved the Oscar and was rightfully rewarded for his successful work in the film.
Tom Hanks’ blue suit in the film is one that I would love to own myself. There is something comforting about seeing the set design and the clothing that makes the viewers fall for the story thanks to not only the performances, but the background as well.
Time for the Hook
I love the film, but I think the title betrays the essence of the story. The bridge part comes in at the end of the movie, it needs a better moniker to tell the whole story.
Bit Part Player
It’s a bit part in the film, but film fans will recognize Jesse Plemons as Joe Murphy, Francis Gary Powers’ friend. Plemons gets little to do in the film, but he is memorable.
Did You Know?
- In case you missed it, the part of James Donovan’s son Roger is played by Noah Schnapp.
- Eve Hewson, Bono’s daughter, plays Carol Donovan.
- Mark Rylance won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his work on the film.
- The movie was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Achievement in Music, Sound Mixing, and Production Design.
- Rylance won multiple critics awards leading up to the Oscars.
- Francis Gary Powers’ son Francis Jr. has an uncredited role in the film as a CIA operative.
- According to Powers’ son, his father told him he wasn’t ordered to commit suicide if he was captured. He was given the option should interrogations become too much to bear. The Russians found the suicide pin, and tested it on a dog, which died moments later.
- Viewers may think it strange to hear the accent of Rylance, but it matched up with the real Abel, who was born and raised in England, and spent time in Scotland. The real Abel never lost his accent from his youth when speaking English.
- This is a rare film where Spielberg doesn’t have John Willaims creating the score for the film. Thomas Newman wrote the score for Bridge of Spies.
Best Quotable Line
Rylance sums up his situation as Abel in this perfect line. “Well, the boss isn’t always right. But, he’s always the boss.”
Bill’s Hot Take:
What did Tom Hanks do in Hollywood that has caused him to be mistreated in a such way that his brilliant work on screen isn’t recognized with awards anymore. He is magnificent as James Donovan, and without Hanks, Bridge of Spies would lack the quality and character in the lead voice of the story. Tom Hanks is perfection, and I cannot understand why people have forgotten that.
Casting Call
- Tom Hanks as James Donovan
- Mark Rylance as Rudolf Abel
- Alan Alda as Thomas Watters Jr.
- Amy Ryan as Mary Donovan
Production Team:
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Produced by Touchstone Pictures / DreamWorks Pictures / Fox 2000 Pictures / Reliance Entertainment
Written by Matt Charman / Ethan Cohen / Joel Cohen
My Critical Response
{Snub-Skip this Film, Lifeboat Award-Desperate for Something to Watch, Commuter Comforter-A Perfect Film for Any Device, Jaw Dropper– You Must Watch This Film on a Big Screen, Rosebud Award– This Film is Cinema.}
This is the time of the final films of DreamWorks, and unfortunately, Bridge of Spies didn’t have the studio muscle behind it to make it a success. This is a phenomenal story with solid acting, including a lead performance from Tom Hanks, one of his best in decades.
Film fans, Spielberg fans, and Hanks fans will want to catch Bridge of Spies because this is a hidden gem that seems to have been forgotten but it should not be gathering dust in the film vault.
Bridge of Spies gets the Rosebud Award for its incredible storytelling, and a masterful performance from Hanks and Rylance.
Coming Soon
Next week, a look back at Robert Redford’s The Horse Whisperer.