Name: Bridge of Spies (2015)
IMDb: link to Bridge of Spies page
Genres: Drama Country of origin: USA, Germany.
Cast: Tom Hanks as James B. Donovan, Mark Rylance as Rudolf Abel, Amy Ryan as Mary Donovan, Alan Alda as Thomas Watters Jr, Austin Stowell as Francis Gary Powers, Scott Shepherd as CIA agent Hoffman.
Sebastian Koch as Vogel, Mikhail Gorevoy as Ivan Schischkin, Max Mauf as Ott's secretary, Burghoff Klaussner as Harald Ott, Peter McRobbie as Allen Dulles (CIA chief). Will Rogers as Frederic Pryor, Michael Gaston as CIA agent Williams, Dakin Matthews as Judge Byers.
Directed by: Pete Riski, Alan Smithee. Written by: Matt Charman, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen.
The Three Acts:
The initial tableaux:
In 1957, the FBI arrests Rudolf Abel for espionage against the United States. For propaganda reasons, not for being true to American ideals, the powers that be select James to be the council of Abel. James tries to represent Abel well, and receives stiff resistance for his efforts. He does establish that the US should treat its prisoners well at least for the hope that our imprisoned soldiers or agents will receive reasonable behaviour from jailors.
In 1960, the Russians shoot down the U2 reconnaissance plane flown by Francis Gary Powers over the USSR, and imprison him afterward. Powers has a great deal of classified intelligence that might be divulged. The Russians want Abel back; the Americans want Powers back.
Delineation of conflicts:
James is 'requested' to negotiate the swap, but is not given diplomatic recognition, and must work as a private citizen. The East Germans detain Pryor, an economics PhD student as a spy to use as a chess piece.
James has to deal with a lot of murkiness, since none of the transactions are done officially. He has to deal with the Russians to get Powers, and the East Germans to get Pryor. The Russians and East Germans have their own agendas.
Resolution:
There's a lot of juggling, but it turns out relatively well.
One line summary: Cold War bargaining.
Statistics:
Cinematography: 10/10 Excellent camera work throughout. As has been pointed out, the set design for the period was not perfect (see IMDb under 'goofs' for instance), but on the whole the look and feel for 1957-60 was rather good.
Sound: 10/10 The actors were well-miked, and the background music was well chosen and played. Spoken languages were English, Russian, and German. A few more subtitles would have helped.
Acting: 8/10 Excellent performances by Mark Rylance (Abel), Amy Ryan (Mary Donovan), Scott Shepherd (Hoffman), Michael Gaston (Williams), Sebastian Koch (Vogel), and Mikhail Gorevoy (Schischkin). The actors for the smaller parts were considerably weaker.
Screenplay: 8/10 There were a number of loops that were not closed. However, the dialog sparkled for the majority of the film. The depictions of the abuse of power by Americans, Russians, and East Germans were a bit understated, but to the point.
Final rating: 9/10
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