Bridge of Spies hits every mark. It’s a great movie—plot, pacing, performances, punch. The movie slowly pulls you into the characters (spies, FBI, CIA, attorneys) and time period (Cold War), exposing unexpected twists such that just as you think you know the story arc, another layer is added. It brings a needed bittersweet element toward the end, but in doing so, by not wrapping everything up with a prettily tied bow, the movie felt more genuine.
The movie also made me immensely proud of so many in my profession: the law. Sure, jokes and snide comments are out there, but too few realize the integrity that also exists among so many attorneys. In Bridge of Spies, Tom Hanks brings to life the integrity that does exist in those who fight the thankless fight for civil rights, for justice for *all*, and for humane decency. At the same time, though, that integrity is juxtaposed against the corrupt and disgraceful part of our system—the part that ignores due process as a meaningful importance, the part that believes believes access to justice and counsel comes with only elite status, the part that involves more ego and greed and bullies.
That said, I must also note how much I loved a unifying tie that wove through the story. Hanks’s character is an insurance defense attorney. He works in numbers and probability and risk. In doing so, the movie brilliantly opens with a negotiation between Hanks and another attorney—the one representing the plaintiffs in a lawsuit involving the insurance company Hanks represents. They argue over what counts as an occurrence. I, having read similar cases and the arguments both were making here, internally giggled at the issue. But the brilliance of this scene doesn’t shine until much later in the film, when we see Hanks pull on *that* aspect of his legal training to argue for something, arguably, much bigger.
The movie also highlights the craft and skill of negotiation that attorneys learn. This is not to say that nonattorneys cannot negotiate. Of course they can. But let us not forget the training that goes into that ability. Add an understanding of the Constitution and our legal system, and it is not surprising that an attorney excelled so much not only in negotiating the deal in the film, but also in seeing the bigger picture. (okay, I’ll stop with the political innuendos. for now. (wait—one more thing. Cold War. Current terrorism concerns. There’s that.))
As I said, Bridge of Spies is a great movie. It’s not the top of the year, I’m sure. But it is a worthy film. It’s also one that should appeal to most movie-goers. After all, this is Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg we’re talking about. And both excel at their craft.
Afterward——
Two things have stayed with me most after the film——one, seeing the look on Hanks’s character’s face twice from a train as he sees young people scramble over a wall. His initial shock allows the viewer to grasp how much people can close their eyes to what is happening in other places around the world. His latter acknowledgment of the parallel but opposite occurrence the second time he has that similar view from the train—well, that deepens in me how important it is that we understand what is happening around the world in order to appreciate what we have here.
Second, this quote resonated: “It doesn’t matter what others think. You know what you did.” I saw Bridge of Spies and Truth in the same week. This quote nicely framed both. It also struck a chord deep within me about what it means to hold strong. To stand tall. To speak up. To be genuine within yourself to what matters. May we all strive for more of that.