Bridge of Spies
Jan. 10th, 2016 01:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bimoYesterday evening Cavendish and I finally grabbed our chance to watch Steven Spielberg's Cold War drama Bridge of Spies. The movie may not be a flawless masterpiece (a little bit of "too much pathos" here, a slightly too stylised characterisation there...), but all in all it turned out an intriguing and memorable viewing experience.
Very well-filmed, in a rather classical style. Well-acted and casted. Tom Hanks is playing Donovan, the chosen US negotiator, in a way that feels rock-solid and palpable, on one hand, yet not entirely free of self-ironic touches on the other. In consequence, his Donovan, while certainly put on a pedestal as the archetypal upright lawyer hero, always manages to stay likable and human.
An impression, which also seems to be strongly supported by the script; most noticeably perhaps in a scene playing in freezing-cold East Berlin where a border-crossing Donovan is forced to hand over his good woolen coat to an East German youth gang.
Also, lots of absurd and delightfully wry humor in other scenes, probably due to the influence of Joel and Ethan Coen.
Very well-filmed, in a rather classical style. Well-acted and casted. Tom Hanks is playing Donovan, the chosen US negotiator, in a way that feels rock-solid and palpable, on one hand, yet not entirely free of self-ironic touches on the other. In consequence, his Donovan, while certainly put on a pedestal as the archetypal upright lawyer hero, always manages to stay likable and human.
An impression, which also seems to be strongly supported by the script; most noticeably perhaps in a scene playing in freezing-cold East Berlin where a border-crossing Donovan is forced to hand over his good woolen coat to an East German youth gang.
Also, lots of absurd and delightfully wry humor in other scenes, probably due to the influence of Joel and Ethan Coen.
no subject
on 2016-01-11 11:36 am (UTC)Heh, no Hollywood narrative without a proper German villain...
(Whether I'm amused or annoyed by this particular phenomenon strongly depends on circumstances.)
Lots of thanks for the great interview link!