At the Movies – Bride of Spies

2015 At the movies December 2015 Suzanne A. Marshall

By Suzanne A. Marshall from the December 2015 Edition

Starring: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Alan Alda

Director: Steven Spielberg

“During the Cold War, an American lawyer is recruited to defend an arrested Soviet spy in court, and then help the CIA facilitate an exchange of the spy for the Soviet captured American U2 spy plane pilot, Francis Gary Powers.”

This is a fascinating story and one that many of us ‘oldies’ will remember from five or more decades past. The news at that time covered the downing by missile, of an American U2 pilot while he was taking aerial photos over the USSR from 70,000 ft. above. But this is just a part of this intriguing tale. Following this event we learn about the undercover work of the CIA in the United States and the arrest of a Russian spy living in the U.S. and passing classified information on to the USSR.

In pursuit of ‘due process’ the US government appoints lawyer James Donovan (played by Tom Hanks) to ensure a fair trial for his client. This is not an easy task given the emotional biases of the public at large and also those of internal government agencies who have no sympathy for the spy.

And so the complexities of ensuring a fair trial unfold and subsequently a conviction that lays the path for an unprecedented ‘exchange’ of one spy for another.

The partnering of Spielberg and Hanks in the deliverance of this true story makes for a terrific, engaging and believable interpretation. The entire cast provide solid acting support and the whole look and feel of the art direction with locations and lighting underscore a realistic and harsh political environment between two big powerful opponents.

IMBD rated this movie as 8.1/10 based on 17,000 + viewers.

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