Sandy Kenyon commends Tom Hanks’ performance in new film ‘Bridge of Spies’

When he goes to Berlin to negotiate the exchange of Abel for a detained U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers (Austin Stowell), Donovan decides, against the wishes of the USA, to try to tack on the release of another imprisoned American as well. Abel is obviously guilty of espionage – but not, as Donovan carefully points out, of treason – but what pricks Spielberg’s interest is the way Donovan is ostracized for performing a constitutional task.

“When Matt Charman unearthed the James Donovan, and the spy swap… this was all news to me, and I, you know, called Tom on the phone and said, ‘I’d love you to read this, ‘” Spielberg said. You look for a few degree of superstructure of who it is, and outside the fact he’s got a smokin’ hot wife, you look for something in the past. When Hanks locks in, he owns a movie and it’s impossible to take your eyes off him.

Hanks is used to being front and center, of course, but there are no fistfights in this movie, no big breakdowns, and when guns are fired it’s absolutely shocking. “Defending a Russian spy?”. What he does is with his minimal role should be studied in acting schools – there no zero wasted words or movements.

A sturdy, perfectly acted, crowd-pleasing period piece, Steven Spielberg’s “Bridge of Spies” also offers a dark then hopeful glimpse of the American conscience, which can bend to the moment but has a tendency to eventually straighten itself out. It’s as procedural as procedural movies go. And the comparison to Unbroken, once one makes it, winds up being pretty apt-both Bridge of Spies and Unbroken are pretty solid films, with strong storytelling and no major flaws, but all the same are not particularly interesting nor memorable in any serious way. “Bridge of Spies” has received 3.5 stars out of 4. Understanding this idea has been hard for a lot of Americans over the years.

Donovan is someone who stands for an America that we all hope for but rarely see. Freedom, compassion and the right to a fair trial were once the cornerstones of the country.

The US government and Donovan’s legal associates wanted Abel to have the semblance of a proper defense, but no more.

“When the picture opens in 1957, the U.S.is gripped by nuclear jitters and the Federal Bureau of Investigation is feverishly hunting Soviet spies”.

The filmmaker says that he’s obsessed with expounding on a person like Donovan “who starts out with certain low expectations and overachieves our highest expectations for them”. Below, catch three new clips from the movie, along with highlights from the recent New York press conference.

Spielberg’s unique ability to capture emotion comes during the final climatic scene. One of its best gags is the cold that afflicts all its chief protagonists passing through the boundary lines of that era. That’s because, much like numerous Coen brothers’ films, Bridge of Spies operates as a comedy in disguise.