‘Bridge of Spies’: Spielberg finds the thrills, action in Cold War crisis

You could write brief descriptions of any 100 relatively significant chapters in American history, toss ’em all into one of those hand-cranked raffle cylinders, pluck out one entry …

And I’ll bet Steven Spielberg could turn that event into an Oscar-bait motion picture experience.

To wit: “Bridge of Spies.”

Some 40 years into his career and still a master of his craft (a few camera moves and special effects moments in this film are simply dazzling), Spielberg has taken an important but largely forgotten and hardly action-packed slice of the Cold War and turned it into a gripping character study and thriller that feels a bit like a John Le Carre adaptation if Frank Capra were at the controls.

“Bridge of Spies” is set mostly in the mid- and late 1950s, when the Cold War between the Americans and the Soviets was heating up — and the East Germans, filled with resentment toward the United States and loathing for the Russians, were hell-bent on finding their own place at the Superpower Table. On some days a global nuclear war seemed more likely than not.

We open on the Brooklyn of 1957, where a seemingly meek man of late middle age quietly goes about his daily routine, which involves painting portraits and, oh yes, working as a mole for the Soviets. In a tightly choreographed and perfectly paced sequence set in the subway system, the man eludes a battery of serious FBI men in serious dark coats and hats — but only temporarily, as it turns out. Eventually they show up at his door, put him in cuffs and turn the place upside down in search of evidence.

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The man is one Rudolf Abel (played by the British theater actor Mark Rylance in a performance of great subtlety, dignity and droll humor). There’s little doubt Abel’s a Soviet spy, but he will be given a trial, so America can show the world everyone in the United States is entitled to a defense, even an illegal immigrant working to help bring the country to its knees.

Enter Tom Hanks, in full modern-day Jimmy Stewart mode, as James Donovan, a genial family man and successful insurance attorney who’s almost always the smartest man in the room and doesn’t mind if others in his presence perceive otherwise. Donovan seems an unlikely choice to defend Abel — but he was a prosecutor at Nuremberg, he’s a well-respected legal presence, and he’ll mount a capable defense, even though it will make him one of the most despised men in America and of course there’s zero chance of actually winning the case.

The United States government and the great majority of Americans want Abel put to death — but Donovan argues passionately and successfully for an extended prison sentence, arguing Abel could be of great value in case an American soldier/spy is caught by the Soviets and there’s a chance of a prisoner swap.

Which is exactly what happens.

In a heart-thumping sequence that reminds us Spielberg is one of the godfathers of cool action sequences with cutting-edge effects, American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers (an excellent Austin Stowell) is blasted out of the skies by a Soviet fighter, ejecting just in time to see his plane explode as he parachutes to safety — and captivity.

Now the U.S. government has another assignment for civilian attorney James Donovan. They’d like him to go to Berlin, which has recently been split by a concrete wall, and negotiate a trade.

We shift from the rain-soaked film noir streets of New York to bleak, snow-blanketed Berlin, where Donovan goes deep into the rabbit hole in a series of increasingly convoluted and sometimes comically bizarre adventures as he attempts to secure a trade of Abel for Powers — along with an American student recently detained by the Germans. (The Coen brothers did an extensive polish on the screenplay, and their handiwork seems most evident in the Berlin scenes.)

Nursing drinks while stating his case with various Soviet and German officials who aren’t even honest about their actual titles, fighting off a cold, Donovan keeps telling everyone he just wants to get this thing done so he can go home and crawl into his own bed. Such fine and measured work from Hanks, who is as good as anyone has ever been at playing men of great integrity and warm hearts who aren’t to be trifled with when the heat is on. Don’t mistake the smile and the friendly handshake for weakness.

Spielberg and his superb cinematographer Janusz Kaminski deliver some excellent visual callbacks, as when Donovan looks out the window of a train and sees Brooklyn kids climbing fences separating their backyards — and is reminded of the barbed wire-crowned Berlin Wall. The supporting cast, including Amy Ryan as Donovan’s wife and Scott Shepherd as a CIA operative who becomes Donovan’s unofficial partner in espionage, is first-rate.

Hanks will be in the conversation for best actor, Rylance will almost certainly be nominated for best supporting actor, and when the titles of the five-plus films nominated for best picture are announced, it will be a surprise if “Bridge of Spies” doesn’t make the cut.

[s3r star=4/4]

DreamWorks Pictures and Fox 2000 Pictures present a film directed by Steven Spielberg and written byMatt Charman, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen. Running time: 142 minutes. Rated PG-13 (for some violence and brief strong language). Opens Friday at local theaters.