Movie review: Breach

Movie review: Breach (Collegiate Times)

Drew Jackson

The real world of espionage is one very distant from the crisp tuxedos and shaken martinis of James Bond. It's a world of secrets and mistrust, of deception and betrayal. It is this world that "Breach," the new spy film from director Billy Ray ("Shattered Glass") creates with success unmatched in recent years.

"Breach" is based on the unbelievably true story of Robert Hanssen, an FBI agent who sold U.S. intelligence secrets to Russia for, I suspect, a sum worthy of high treason. When he's not spying, Hanssen enjoys, unbeknownst to his stepford wife Bonnie, videotaping himself and his wife in the throws of love, then talking about it in chat rooms on the Internet. Oh, and he is also the most openly Catholic man since the Pope. What a piece of work.

After two decades of spying, the FBI has developed a case against Hanssen (played by an inspired Chris Cooper), but want to catch him red-handed. FBI agent Kate Burroughs (a surprisingly bland and purely functional Laura Linney) gives the assignment of spying on Hanssen to newbie Eric O'Neill (Ryan Phillippe).

O'Neill poses as his clerk, responsible for booking his appointments, taking care of his mail and trying his best to keep his lips firmly pressed against the traitorous behind of Hanssen.
The most suspenseful moments of "Breach" don't occur in a dim alley or a smoky room. One happens in a windowless vault-like office, where the bright glow and gentle hum of fluorescent lights detect everything. Here, the scene is more lion and flea than cat and mouse. Hanssen prides himself on lie detection, and O'Neill is trying his best not to screw up in a soundproof cell where no one can hear him scream, let alone a gunshot.

Outside the office, the world is made up of shadows and half-lit faces. Washington D.C. has never looked gloomier, and the foggy streets succeed in reflecting the dark deception of the spy world.
It appears as though O'Neill, or his Catholic background, has gained the trust of Hanssen, as he's invited (expected) to attend Mass with the Hanssens and even return to their house for lunch. O'Neill comes to admire the man, his passion and his character, but never loses sight of his purpose.

Chris Cooper has never been given a leading role, and his interpretation of Hanssen demands an explanation why. He becomes every role he takes, and his mantle should gleam from the four or so Oscars (all for best supporting actor, of course) instead of his solitary one for "Adaptation."
In Cooper, Hanssen's ego and self-righteousness are exposed. We learn to fear him, his knowledge, his anger and above all the discovery of O'Neill. He loves himself and his country (surprisingly), but feels like his genius has been passed over and that his treason is justified as his test of the system.

As with any great performance of a real person, Robert Hanssen and Chris Cooper's portrayal of Hanssen become inseparable.

All Phillippe and Linney can do is try to keep up with Cooper. Phillippe's O'Neill is clumsy and inexperienced, but that's the point. He keeps us always uncomfortable, our sweaty palms gripping the armrest, urging him to get out of Hanssen's office, knowing that sooner or later he will get caught, and Hanssen will use his deadeye shot to put a bullet between O'Neill's youthful eyes.

"Breach's" script sometimes falls victim to the epidemic of awful action film one-liners, but the story always stays afloat and entertaining. It is the realism of "Breach" that makes it so surprising, and quite frankly revolutionary in a genre full of hyperbole and excess. Robert De Niro's "The Good Shepherd," another recent spy movie, received an overly and somewhat undeservedly harsh reception due to the sheer ambition of the work. The movie attempts to tell the entire history of the CIA, but ultimately becomes tedious and monotonous. A lean, clean-cut focus in "Breach" proves to be the ideal route to a viewer's pulse-pounding heart.

Under the wing of a monster is not the most comfortable of places, even seemingly pious monsters and "Breach" is never comfortable. Even though it's widely known that Robert Hanssen is rotting behind bars, a sense of anxious dread and goose-pimpled skin persists from the first fifteen minutes to the rolling of the final credits.

Grade: B+Cast: Chris Cooper, Laura Linney, Ryan Phillippe
Director: Billy Ray
Runtime: 110 minutes
Location: Regal New River Valley 11
Showtimes: 1:20, 4:00, 7:10, 10:00
Synopsis: The true story of the capture of Robert Hanssen, a defected FBI agent who is said to be the most damaging spy against the U.S. government ever.