The trailers for this looked bleak but after my aunt Mary recommended it highly, Jack and I saw and loved the true story of a 1950s insurance lawyer defending a Russian spy and more. Of course, with Steven Spielberg at the helm, the production values are sky-high, and the art direction, picture cars, props, and Amy Ryan's hair and wardrobe are practically worth the price of admission. The reliable Tom Hanks (last blogged for another real-life person, Walt Disney, in Saving Mr. Banks) keeps us rooting for our hero, and Mark Rylance (new to me but winner of three Tonys and star of numerous productions in his native England) is marvelous as the commie. Ryan (most recently in Birdman) brings her character of the lawyer's wife a lovely June Cleaver attitude and the aforementioned period costumes and hairdos. Oh, this is one example where Rule #1 is broken--he gets a cold.
Spielberg (last directing gig was Lincoln) lends gravitas and the script by Matt Charman (new to me after two mini-series and one feature) and Joel & Ethan Coen (Inside Llewyn Davis) has more laughs than we expected. Production Designer Adam Stockhausen may have a shot at another Oscar after winning earlier this year for The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Thomas Newman's (most recently in these pages for The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) score is another reliable component of the overall experience and may be streamed from this link.
I have to also recommend a seven minute bit Hanks did with Jimmy Fallon on the latter's show, reading scripts by elementary school kids who were told to write something called Bridge of Spies. Very funny. Watch it here.
Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences are in agreement with Mary and us, averaging 92/90. This should be playing for a while longer in your neighborhood until its estimated February release on DVD.
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