BREACH: CREEPY THRILLER
Breach is based on the true story of Robert Hanssen. This man sold secrets to the Soviet Union while he was employed with the FBI. Chris Cooper plays Hanssen and is scary and sleazy. Ryan Phillippe is the guy trying to catch him in the act. It is a game of cat and mouse that keeps you guessing.
Eric O’Neill (Phillippe) wants to become a FBI agent. He is given the opportunity when they ask him to be agent Robert Hanssen’s (Cooper) assistant. He is given the story that he is a sexual deviant and that he is to check his computer for websites confirming that. O’Neill and Hanssen become close as they find a bond with religion. O’Neill confronts his FBI contact, Kate Burroughs (Laura Linney), telling her he doesn’t believe they have any real proof. It is then that she then reveals that he is selling secrets to the Soviet Union and shows him the proof. O’Neill starts to see what kind of person Hanssen is and does whatever it takes to catch him.
The story does a good job of showing this traitorous man and his two personalities. He is a conspirator to his own country while being a FBI agent. Hanssen is also shown as almost being a radical when it comes to his beliefs in Catholicism. But yet he makes tapes of his wife and him having sex and is a family man. O’Neill (Phillippe) sees this and it makes him question his wanting to be an agent. Cooper is first rate as always. He will send chills up your spine with a subtle look to O’Neill’s wife when discussing religion or when O’Neill runs into him after he has been arrested. The background just adds to the tone of the film. Dreary weather and cold buildings show how the dark the days are when a man within the FBI comprises the county’s security for his own benefit.
Towards the end of the film O’Neill tracks down Hanssen and attempts to make him believe that he is on his side. The speech is forced and too out of character to be believable. It is hard to believe that Hanssen would believe him what he is hearing.
Breach shows that we as a country are vulnerable even among our own. Chris Cooper as Robert Hanssen makes the film what it is. He shows that he is one of today’s best actors with an unforgettable performance. Phillipe also shows his character’s struggle well.
Report Card:
Story-B
Acting-A
Visuals-B
Originality/Innovation-B
Enjoyability Grade–B
DVD Extras-B+
Overall Grade B
|
