Bridge of Spies

[granolamom]

Directed by Steven Spielberg, script by the Coen brothers and Matt Charman, starring Tom Hanks and Mark Rylance (whom I had only see in Wolf Hall before now), it was, as expected, a quality show. Hanks is becoming the new Jimmy Stewart--he's good in the roles where he's got the highest morals in the room but isn't all showy about it, until he needs to be.

I was particularly impressed by the photography and costumes (how did I not know that attorneys wore morning dress when appearing before the Supreme Court?).

[GirlyGhoul]

Oh, now this skit makes more sense to me!

[Ginger]

Agreed it was a quality show, although as always I had to beat down my annoyance with Spielberg's lack of subtlety. (A few too many points hammered home a little too hard and a little too often, several supporting characters who were not afforded any nuance.) Mark Rylance ruled.

I did feel a little bit of a lack of suspense. Spoiler

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}With Tom Hanks playing a Spielberg hero, I didn't feel there was ever a question of him being successful. And frankly, the second half of the movie was mostly a series of meetings, which felt like I was witnessing bureaucracy.

[Deleted]

It was a decent movie, nothing special though. What bothered me is that several years are supposed to pass during the course of the film and yet the kids didn't get any older. And they weren't very clear about the passage of time either.

[Mutagen]

Did everyone have to be sick? I know realism and all, but it was sort of grossing me out. I see/hear enough of other people's nasal problems in my office at work.

Other than that, I thought it was OK. My favorite was actually the guy who played the Soviet negotiator. I didn't love the slightly buffoonish portrait of the East German officials -- just seemed like an off note. But the atmosphere in the Berlin scenes was fantastic.

[sjankis630]

I thought this was an OK way of passing the night. I did agree that there was no real tension. When Tom Hanks got his coat stolen in East Berlin I thought it looked silly. I kept thinking "he's being mugged by the German cast of West Side Story!"
I also thought the whole other dumb young American prisoner was entirely unnecessary, even if it was true.

[Smilla]

I really love this movie. Not so much for the picture perfect depiction of the setting, or a rare instance of Tom Hanks playing an Everyman who isn't super-patriotic, flawless or thoroughly likeable, but for the no-frills, this-actually-sucks showcase of what spy work in the fifties was really like. In an actual movie. My favorite scene was the guy who just strolls into the airplane hanger, politely tells a bunch of guys they're "working for the CIA now," and then with equal stoicism tells them they have to kill themselves if there is even a chance they could be captured (the "spend the dollar" moment.)

I didn't know Spanks had it in them.