Bridge of Spies explores the limits of American civility

Inspired by true events, Bridge of Spies opens in the late 1950s at the height of the Cold War, when Americans lived in the long shadows of the Soviet Union’s nuclear missiles. But the film explores not so much a clash of powers as a conflict of principles.

Insurance lawyer James Donovan (Tom Hanks) hasn’t tried a criminal case in years, but the courts appoint him to defend Soviet spy Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance), who was captured outside his secret Brooklyn station post. Everyone—Donovan’s family, his law firm partners, the CIA, the media, and people on the street—takes offense at his assignment. Even the presiding judge openly despises the spy. “He’ll get a capable defense,” the judge says to Donovan, “but, God-willing, he’ll be executed.”

Donovan is a lone voice insisting that affording an enemy with constitutional rights is an American value.

The trial’s outcome goes as foreordained, but a wrinkle develops when the Soviet Union shoots down Gary Powers’ U-2 plane and takes him captive. The American government calls on Donovan to negotiate a prisoner exchange—Powers for Abel. Donovan travels to East Berlin, where a third party complicates the picture. The East German government nabs an American student and, to prove its legitimacy as a player on the world’s stage, wants in on the swap. The CIA tells Donovan that Powers is his only concern, but once again Donovan stands up for the forsaken, insisting the student must be part of the exchange.

Hanks gives another solid performance. Whether standing alone before the U.S. Supreme Court or riding unprotected in a rickety East Berlin train, Donovan maintains a cool demeanor while allowing just a bit of fear to show in his eyes.

But the film keeps too cool. There’s very little nail-biting tension. It also seems director Steven Spielberg, with 20/20 hindsight, makes a bit of sport of what once was a rational fear. Just about anyone who demonstrates anti-Soviet fervor, not just the trial judge but also Donovan’s CIA handler and Powers’ best friend, comes across as a meathead.

As usual, though, Spielberg elegantly decorates every scene. Crowds of men wear fedoras in public. The wooden floors in the Soviet Embassy’s cavernous, red-draped halls creak under each footfall. And spies race old Volvos through East Berlin’s snowy streets.

To make Donovan seem more like an everyday hero, Bridge of Spies (rated PG-13 for some violence and brief strong language) greatly downplays the real Donovan’s prior but extensive connections to the intelligence community. When the film ends, it does note Donovan continued in his role as a high-stakes, international negotiator. He made several trips to Cuba, eventually securing the release of 1,100 Bay of Pigs invaders and 8,500 political prisoners.

In spite of some flaws, the entertaining Bridge of Spies asks a relevant question: Do captured enemy spies and combatants deserve constitutional protections?

Guantanamo Bay proves, 25 years after the Cold War ended, that issue hasn’t yet been settled.