Movie Review: Bridge of Spies

Considering how most people view the business of espionage, either as a grim and dark job done (hopefully) well by our side and (hopefully) poorly by theirs, or as a backdrop for action adventure films like the Bond franchise, compelling stories about spies that also work to show a moral high ground are few and far between.

Steven Spielberg's Bridge of Spies, however, does just this, but shifting the focus from the actual spying to the aftermath and it's complications, by looking at two historical events; The Hollow Nickel case and the 1960 U-2 Incident, and their legal and political consequences.

Following lawyer James B. Donovan (played by Tom Hanks), the film does a remarkable job of showing a man doing a thankless task to the best of his abilities. In the first half of the film he works to defend Russian spy Rudolf Abel (played by Mark Rylance) in a system where the judge, jury, and public opinion would all like him to work against his own client, but he simply focuses on the job he has been given and works to see it through.

In many ways the film feels like a Frank Capra picture, with the little guy standing up to the system to do what's right no matter how many times he's pushed down. Coupled with the eerie feel of Cold War Berlin (watching the Wall go up was a lot more affecting than I thought it would be) and the intricacies of political maneuverings, the film also works quite well as a thriller.

An excellent film.

Thing’s I’ve Noticed: Movie Adaptations can be a lot of fun

On my anniversary this year, my wife and I went to see the film Cloud Atlas, and I totally loved it.  The six intertwining stories taking place across hundreds of years (circa 1849 AD to “106 years after the fall”), and involve multiple characters, many of them played by the same actors playing different ethnicities and genders throughout.  The film was ambitious, definitely something to be seen on the big screen and in turns funny, action-packed, horrifying, romantic and hopeful.

I totally loved it.

Now, going back a few years I actually read the 2004 David Mitchell novel for one of my book clubs, and honestly – it wasn’t really my thing.  At the time I enjoyed the two stories set in the future, and the story entitled “The Ghastly ordeal of Timothy Cavendish” was also pretty funny, but overall the novel just wasn’t for me.  

Unfortunately the book club member who chose the title was unable to attend the book club meeting and the three of us who made it found the book less than great, so we didn’t really have anyone to “champion” the selection.

So when I heard they were adapting the novel into a film, I honestly had very little interest in checking it out.  But, after a pretty amazing trailer, a glowing review from my favourite movie reviewer and the fact that my wife loves to see every movie Tom Hanks is in, we decided to check it out.

Totally worth it, lots of fun, and honestly – it kind of makes me want to revisit the novel.