In a word: wow. The first trailer for Steven Spielberg’s latest, Cold War thriller Bridge of Spies, has arrived online, instantly presenting what’s sure to be one of the frontrunners in this year’s awards race. Tom Hanks stars in the gorgeous-looking period piece about a lawyer who is tapped by the U.S. government to negotiate the release of a captured American U-2 pilot before he’s pressured into revealing information that could give the Soviet Union the upper hand in an escalating Cold War.
Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen penned the script, which sounds like it will mine the fascinating time period for maximum thrills with a tense ticking-clock story that plays out across a global scale. In addition to Hanks, the pic stars Mark Rylance (a new fave of Spielberg’s, given that the director just cast him in the title role in The BFG), Scott Shepherd, Amy Ryan, Sebastian Koch and Alan Alda, as well as Billy Magnussen, Eve Hewson , Domenick Lombardozzi, James Caan and Ed Asner in smaller roles.
Here’s the official synopsis:
A dramatic thriller set against the backdrop of a series of historic events, DreamWorks Pictures/Fox 2000 Pictures’ “Bridge of Spies” tells the story of James Donovan, a Brooklyn lawyer who finds himself thrust into the center of the Cold War when the CIA sends him on the near-impossible task to negotiate the release of a captured American U-2 pilot. Screenwriters Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen have woven this remarkable experience in Donovan’s life into a story inspired by true events that captures the essence of a man who risked everything and vividly brings his personal journey to life.
Bridge of Spies opens in the thick of awards season on October 16.
