Bridges of Spies

When Steven Spielberg casts Tom Hanks in a movie set in the Cold War era, the mere idea gives you goose bumps. Yes, this duo has given us some extraordinary movies including Saving Private Ryan and Catch Me If You Can. What do they have to offer this time?

This time, the plot is lot more sedate. It is drama, driven almost entirely by dialogue, without much of a suspense element. It is almost the journey of a man who is thrown into the deep end unexpectedly and outgrows himself, exceeds all expectations, within a very short period, willingly going far outside his comfort zones to achieve things he might or might not get any credit for. He is the man who goes out of his way because he believes there is a job, however unrewarding, to be done.

We are shown an insurance lawyer who is good at what he does. Yes, he knows how to use words, how to define his clients and is very particular about who is referred to in what terms. In fact, he appears very much the regular lawyer whose bread and butter lies in the favorable interpretations he can work out from the law of the land. But one day he is asked to do a ‘thankless’ job, defend a national enemy! Of course he is reluctant to do it at first, but when he gets going he becomes more serious about it than anyone likes! But his conscience as a lawyer to do the best possible for his ‘client’ leaves a window open, a window which will take him all the way behind enemy lines in Berlin.

Bridges of Spies is a very understated drama. No emotional outbursts, no overt expressions of joy or

grief, just men doing their job oblivious of what the world thinks about them. In fact that is one of the last lines spoken in the movie, ‘You know what you did, that’s what matters. Not what others think.’ It pretty much sums up the character of James Donovan, played with expert restrain by Tom Hanks. In many ways the character may be an extension of Carl Hanratty from Catch Me If You Can; the man who goes from America to France to bring back an American. Here too the task is similar, but the reasons and motives are entirely different. And Tom Hanks brings out subtle differences in the way he plays these two men. That he is not a man with experience or authority is evident in his body language, but his determination to complete his task at an cost makes itself evident. Other characters are not really given enough time to grow into the script, which is why perhaps the final ‘exchange’ fails to evoke emotions in the audience. The only other character you can really connect to is Rudolf Abel, and you wonder, as does James Donovan, on whether he ever feels any fear or doubt or worry, to which he always has the same reply. But, you do sense the bond growing in between them.

One thinks that Steven Spielberg achieved exactly what he wanted to through this movie. There doesn’t seem to be any intention of making a thriller or an intense suspense drama or an emotional rescue story. He just wants to show us that a man, as regular a guy as it gets, can exceed all our expectations, and maybe his own, when the hour is right. Bridges of Spies attempts to be no more than a closely followed character graph of James B Donovan as he transforms amazingly from a regular lawyer to somebody special. For that reason, Bridges of Spies is not exciting, or gripping, but it is through every single minute, engaging. You will love the restraint Tom Hanks put into his performance, you have to admire the restraint Spielberg showed in the making. This is the work of a master who knows exactly how much to do with a script without letting his reputation get in the way! Please do not approach this movie with the baggage of a Saving Private Ran or Catch Me If You Can. This may be more like The Terminal, but toned down even further!

Thoroughly engaging subtle drama

3.5/5