This is not just an espionage thriller, but a political thriller. It does a great job of explaining the complex political theater of Eastern Europe during the Cold War as well as the complex American justice system. We have the Coen brothers to thank for the easy-to-follow screenplay, which is saying something considering the infamous U2 incident is quite complicated. Steven Spielberg glorifies American values with soapbox speeches by the fantastic all-American Tom Hanks. As the idealistic and principled lawyer defending a Soviet spy, James Donovan upholds the Constitution by mounting a valiant defense in the face of public scrutiny taking his case all the way up to the Supreme Court. The spy is Mark Rylance who does not get much screen time, but plays a calm man ready to face whatever fate may come to him. The production design is also praiseworthy. It paints a gloomy picture of the ruinous East Berlin at the height of the Cold War as the Berlin Wall is being erected. The music was not composed by John Williams, the first Spielberg movie that has not featured his frequent collaborator since 1985's The Color Purple.
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