Bridge of Spies 2015
I do not remember hearing much about this movie when it came out, but it was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar as well as Best Original Screenplay, which is usually a good sign. I agree this is a very good movie, though probably a little quiet and slow for some people’s tastes. It tells the story of a lawyer (Tom Hanks) who is assigned to defend a suspected Russian spy captured in New York. There are a couple of parts of the movie, involving the trial, where Hanks is demonized for defending a communist spy, and then negotiations where the spy is swapped for U-2 pilot Gary Powers. Tom Hanks is perfect for this, as just an everyday guy who gets caught up in something much bigger through no real fault of his own. It is a very interesting story set during the Cold War and Hanks’ character winds up being put at great risk by the CIA who want him to negotiate the release of Gary Powers, but do not want to have anything to do with it officially. The basics of the story seem to be true, but I do not doubt there were a number of embellishments to keep the story moving along. That’s okay with me because the result is very enjoyable, with a solid performance by Hanks, and an Oscar winning performance by the quiet Russian-Scottish spy who I would have sworn was played by Richard Jenkins, but is in fact Mark Rylance.
Written: 19 Sep 2016
Owned on: Blu-ray, DVD, Digital