Director: Steven Spielberg
Stars: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance
During the Cold War, lawyer James Donovan (Hanks) is given the thankless task of defending Soviet spy Rudolf Abel (Rylance). Then, when an American pilot is captured by the Russians, Donovan is sent to East Germany to negotiate an exchange.
From the trailers, and the fact that Donovan was a lawyer, I was expecting more of a courtroom drama so I was surprised when that aspect of the film was over and done with quickly. But I didn’t mind so much because this film is simply fantastic. The themes it deals with are still relevant today as it showed how a culture can be so paranoid and ready to hang a man for being a spy, despite what their constitution might say. Hanks was amazing in depicting a man that wanted to stay true to the ideals he held dear, and the oaths he had sworn to as a lawyer. He was able to put his personal prejudices aside and defend the man to the best of his ability, because that was his job. And then he was asked to go to East Germany, when the Berlin Wall was being constructed, and take on the role of negotiator.
Even then his morality shone through as the CIA wanted the deal done quickly, but there were a couple of wrinkles that Donovan wanted to take care of before the deal went through. Spielberg creates a tense atmosphere, and it was wryly amusing to see Hanks walk through a ruined Germany, as it reminded me of Saving Private Ryan. But while the film was tense and in some places quite dark (there are scenes of torture) it also delivered laughs with some cute moments, which worked well to save the film from being too moody.
Prior to seeing the film I did see that Rylance received a lot of praise along with Hanks and I find this surprising since Rylance isn’t actually in the film that much. He does make an impression, and the end is quite bittersweet in a way, but Hanks is the one that carries the film and it’s another great performance by him.
There is only one real scene of action in the film, but it is done well, and sometimes characters are introduced in a jarring manner, making you wonder what purpose they serve in the story. However, it comes together well and I was absorbed for the entire duration of the film. Really, really good, and I strongly recommend it.
