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From:Chris Cooper , Ryan Phillippe , Laura Linney , Dennis Haysbert , Gary Cole , Universal , Billy Ray , Universal Studios ,
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 "Breach", 2008-10-10
This movie was not as action-packed as I had thought it would be. I enjoyed the story, but to be quite honest, it came to a close rather abruptly. However, the acting was great!
Your FBI at work, and after only 20 years of traitorous leaks, they bust the case. Chris Cooper is superb, 2008-10-06
What do you do with an FBI traitor who for 20 years was feeding serious secrets to the Soviets and then to Russia? If you're the FBI, you don't follow up on tips about the guy, you don't get curious that his expensive life style doesn't match his FBI salary, you ignore his extensive, private hetero kinkiness even though a murmur about homosexuality would get another person booted out the door, and you sure don't want to look too hard and then find a scandal on your hands like the CIA's Aldrich Ames.
It was in 1979, three years after he joined the FBI, that Robert Hanssen started his career as a spy. It wasn't until 1999 that it occurred to the FBI to look closely at Hanssen. At one point, concerned about the possibility of a mole in their midst, the FBI actually had Hanssen investigating any possible moles within the FBI.
Don't look for FBI culpability in Breach. The movie barely alludes to all this, yet this is the real story of Robert Hanssen. What we have, instead, is a genuinely fascinating story of the final hunt to nail Hanssen, the hunt for evidence that would stand up in court. To get that evidence the FBI, finally on the job, sends in Eric O'Neill, a young man without much experience to be Hanssen's gofer. The hope is that Hanssen will not see this fellow as a threat and may let down his guard. If the FBI is going to nail Hanssen, they need to catch him in the act of sending classified information to the Russians. Without this, the best they can do is fire him. It's no spoiler to say that Robert Hanssen was arrested in 2001 and is now serving a life sentence in a high security prison, restricted to solitary confinement 23 hours a day. Eric O'Neill did his job.
That outstanding actor, Chris Cooper, plays Hanssen. It's a magnificent performance, stuffed full with intelligence, arrogance, suspicion, threat and conflict. Hanssen is not a likeable guy, but he's shrewd and smart. The contest between Hanssen's deep suspicions toward anyone and Eric O'Neill's odd combination of apparent naivety and resourceful quick thinking keeps the movie, for the most part, speeding right along. The one real weakness is Laura Linney as O'Neill's boss. It's an unnecessary part and just seems to sit there as a way to feature a star name who can be used now and then for some plot exposition. As much as I like Linney, every time she's on screen I'm reminded that I'm watching a Hollywood movie. That goes for some of the secondary parts, too. The movie needed faces we'd never seen before, except for Cooper. Instead there are too many vaguely familiar Hollywood faces, such as Gary Cole, Dennis Haysbert, and Kathleen Quinlan. They all do good jobs, but their familiarity is distracting.
Ryan Phillippe as Eric O'Neill gives a first-class, nuanced performance. O'Neill is not thrilled with what he's called upon to do. He can't tell anyone, including his wife, and she's not happy with his long and erratic hours. It's a dangerous, high stress job and the man he's trying to catch is no dummy. Phillippe holds his own with Cooper. It's unfortunate that he has one of those youngish, generically handsome faces. He's a good actor, and I think his looks get in the way of critical appreciation of his skills. The movie stands or falls on the actor who plays Hanssen. Chris Cooper is so good and so believable it's a pleasure to sit back and lose yourself in his performance. He's been memorable is so many movies, but one of his best performances (and a favorite of mine) is in Lone Star.
1 of 1 customers found the following review helpful:
Excellent, 2008-09-08
This is a very well made film about a true story of betrayal to one's country and those who work to catch him in the act. I love non-fiction whether it is in book form or films.
Chris Cooper, Ryan Phillippe and Laura Linney are all superb in their roles. The supporting cast does a great job too.
I really enjoyed the special features on the DVD where we meet the real Eric O'Neill and his wife Juliana, along with behind-the-scenes commentary and video.
If you love suspense and great story-telling, I recommend this film. If you think a film drags without car crashes and explosions, I recommend you skip this intelligent movie.
Tightly woven, briskly paced and utterly absorbing..., 2008-08-27
`Breach' is a fantastic film that took me by surprise; for I never expecting it to hit all the marks it did. I saw the trailer and expected it to be an average government thriller, but what I got was an above average thriller than not only delivered chills (I was on edge throughout this entire film) but it also delivered the right mixture of drama and justice. It is a thought provoking moral driven film that masters its genre quite easily. Thanks to tight scripting and excellent acting the film is further elevated into pristine territory.
The film, based on a true story, recounts the greatest security breach in US history, one made by a certain Robert Hanssen. You Eric O'Neill, trying desperately to make agent, is handed a job monitoring Hanssen, under the premise that he is being investigated for his questionable extracurricular activities. Eric is a little put off by his new job, especially once he gets to know Hanssen and begins to feel that the investigation is a little unfair; and then he learns the truth behind what he's really after and things begin to change. Hanssen is much smarter than the rest of them and this makes O'Neill uneasy, for he's young and inexperienced, but he has one thing on his side; Hanssen trusts him.
The film is expertly woven, truly, for it never loses the audience for a single moment. The script brilliantly plays scene off scene, actor off actor, and weaves a very believable and understandable film. I was never lost, wondering what was going on, yet the film is never too simple, never dumbed down for the audience. It is smart and interesting and impeccably crafted.
The acting is another highlight. Chris Cooper is phenomenal as Hanssen, slipping beneath the man's skin and fleshing out his inner demons. Hanssen has a gruff exterior, but his heart is not as cold as he depicts, and this is seen as he attempts to befriend O'Neill. I never thought that Ryan Phillippe would be able to hold his own aside Cooper or Linney or even Haysbert, but he does. I've liked Phillippe (I adored him in `Cruel Intentions') but for the most part I never saw him as an overly strong actor. Here he holds his own and demands our attention. The way he displays his characters panic while restraining it to mainly his eyes and a few well placed twitches is astonishing. I kept looking at my wife going `he is really pulling this off'. Linney is fine, although she's been better and her character is a little clichéd (my wife asked me a few times if people really talk like that). Haysbert doesn't have a lot to do, but he is always commanding.
The film belongs to Cooper and Phillippe, and they support each frame masterfully.
If you are looking for an absorbing thriller that will leave you at the edge of your seat from beginning to end then `Breach' is the film you are looking for. Even if you already know the end (which they share with you at the very beginning) the film will never cease to grab you. The acting is impeccable, the script is spot on and the direction is tight enough to keep the action heavy and our interest unwavering.
 Cooper is great..., 2008-08-16
...but the pacing and the dreary visuals leaves this reviewer a little cold. Character actor Chris Cooper never ceases to amaze me. He can become anyone quite convincingly. Phillipe is also showing signs of great potential and because of them this film is entertaining. However, the pacing is all wrong. Too many times I was ready for them to arrest him. There's no surprise-no nail biting scenes that leave you perched on the edge of your seat. This is just a film that's little more than a documentary. I'd rather have seen the information on the History channel. The actors are what makes this a three star for me.
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