Spielberg’s lovingly crafted Cold War tale credibly recreates early 1960s America both aesthetically and emotionally. Spielberg is as effective and efficient here as you’d expect, and Hanks is great in the lead role as American lawyer James Donovan. There’s plenty of message within the film, which manages to simultaneously celebrate American values while condemning recent American actions (anyone accusing the film of propaganda is off-base). Best of all, the Coen brothers co-wrote the script, and their sense of humor is often evident, particularly in Donovan’s dealings with double-talking agents and blustery bureaucrats.
Unfortunately, the underdeveloped inclusion of Donovan’s family and a hackneyed attempt to overly sentimentalize the relationship between him and Mark Rylance’s character comes off cloying. Combined with some overbearing music cues, the film often veers into melodramatic Oscar bait territory.
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