BREACH Reviewed by Harvey S. Karten
Universal Pictures
Grade: B+
Directed by: Billy Ray
Written By: Adam Mazer, William Rotko, Billy Ray, story by
Adam Mazer, William Rotko
Cast: Chris Cooper, Ryan Phillippe, Laura Linney, Dennis
Haysbert
Screened at: AMC 84th St, NYC, 2/13/07
Opens: February 16, 2007 If someone is reasonably smart, you can usually guess why he
does something, and so can he. The usual motives are money,
power, love, jealousy, all the things that make life worth living.
When someone is very smart, though, he may do things that
make you scratch your head in puzzlement. The person who
does these things may not himself know why he does them.
Someone who is not exceptionally sophisticated, a high-school
student, let's say, might ask, "How come Bill Gates is still
working?" This by way of wondering: why did Robert Hanssen,
considered to be one of the worst spies in U.S. history in terms
of what he gave away to our enemies, give secrets to the
Russians which not only compromised top secret information
but led to the execution by the Soviets of three agents who were
working for the United States? Hanssen, an actual spy who was
sentenced in 2002 in federal court to life imprisonment in
solitary confinement in a Colorado penitentiary, committed his
heinous acts over a twenty-two year period–but not for money or
hated of the American way. The relatively small sum he paid for priceless information was
deposited for him in a Russian bank, not available for his use.
He did not do it for love of Communism. In fact Hanssen, a
devout Catholic, married with six kids–never mind that he was a
sexual deviant with a Hong Kong stripper and one who scanned
the ‘net for porn—seems to love his country. He does give us
some clues at the conclusion of "Breach," a dramatization of his
story, directed by Billy Ray. Ray is perhaps the ideal person to
give life to the tale, as Ray's previous foray into the world of
betrayal, "Shattered Glass," is a smashing look at a betrayal of a
young journalist Stephen Glass, who fabricated half the stories
that he posted to American political journal, the New Republic.
At least Mr. Glass's perfidy did not threaten the work of some
fifty FBI agents and give away the hiding places of the president
and vice president of the U.S. in the event of nuclear attack. As a dramatic work, "Breach" is far more in the style of "The
Good Shepherd" than anything in the way of 007. The events
portrayed look real, though director Ray, using a screenplay he
co-wrote with Adam Mazer and William Rotko using Mazer and
Rotko's story, is filled with moments of high suspense, and is
not burdened with "Shepherd"'s excessive length. "Breach" focuses on two actors with visceral chemistry, one a
middle-aged pro, the other the embodiment of youthful energy.
Chris Cooper is the humorless and bullying Robert Hanssen, a
twenty-five year FBI veteran with just two month to go before
reaching the obligatory age of retirement of fifty-seven. Ryan
Phillippe performs in the role of the bullied Eric O'Neill, an
agent-in-training, known to Hanssen as simply "clerk," and
ordered to call Hanssen "boss" or "sir" throughout their working
relationship. Though Hanssen only vaguely suspects
something amiss, O'Neill has been assigned by his superior
officer, Agent Kate Burroughs (Laura Linney), to spy on
Hanssen, gathering information that could lead to the big man's
arrest and conviction for treason while fast-tracking O'Neill for
the position of agent. Adding to O'Neill's discomfort, his wife
Juliana (Caroline Dhavernas), who must know nothing of her
husband's work, sees little of her young man aside from him as
a lad filled with tension and is increasingly freaked out by the
mannerisms of Hanssen, who invites himself over and attempts
to convert her to Catholicism. Cinematographer Tak Fujimoto films the interior proceedings in
Toronto in dark corridors, exhibiting the offices are drab affairs,
while external shots, particularly the FBI headquarters are on
location in Washington, DC. The tense moments are palpable,
particularly when O'Neill is on the verge of being caught red-
handed fiddling with his boss's brief case or Palm Pilot, messing
with his files, or trying desperately to lure him away from a
scene that could lead him to discover other FBI agents scanning
his car. Despite the horrendous criminal activities of Agent Hanssen, a
man who was the number one agent in his specialty and could
have retired a legend in his domain, Chris Cooper's portrayal is
so touching that one cannot help feeling sympathy for the man,
particularly when, in the elevator, handcuffed by two agents on
the way to a holding cell, he asks for prayers on his behalf. This
is testament to the power of a solid performance. Rated PG-13. 110 minutes 2007 by Harvey Karten
Member: NY Film Critics Online | 
