Breach

Breach (***)

Breach is based on a true story, and follows the investigation and eventual arrest of Robert Hanssen, "the worst spy in U.S. history" as he is described in the movie. Before a case was finally built against him in 2001, Hanssen worked in the FBI, and sold huge amounts of classified information to which he had access. The movie begins with a young FBI agent, played by Ryan Phillippe, getting the assignment of posing as his new clerk, essentially distracting him enough to allow for his possessions to be sifted through for evidence.

Hanssen is played by Chris Cooper, who portrays him as an arrogant, controlling, super type-A personality sort of figure. He constantly talks down to Phillippe's character, Eric O'Neill, treating him as an errand boy, despite seeming to have a certain respect for his talents. At the same time, Hanssen is (or at least seems to be) a very pious and traditional Catholic. A good part of the film deals with Hanssen attempting to become sort of a father figure and spiritual advisor to O'Neill, which puts him at odds with O'Neill's non-practicing wife, who knows Hanssen only as O'Neill's boss and not as a man under investigation.

Over the course of the movie, the FBI attmpts several ploys using O'Neill to gather evidence from Hanssen's car and his PDA, amoung other things. Gradually, O'Neill becomes frustrated and somewhat paranoid of the constantly suspicious Hanssen. The film's biggest moments of suspense are examples of O'Neill having to think on his toes to weave through precarious situations where he has to stay in character as Hanssen's loyal assistant and yet at the same constantly distract him from the searches taking place around him.

The movie is worthwhile because Hanssen is an interesting character and Chris Cooper's performance is very good, but the film never really builds a tremendous amount of tension, despite the espianoge and spy games that are central to the story. The movie never seems to make up its mind as to whether it's trying to be a triller and focus on the actual circumstances of Hanssen's treason and O'Neill's investigation, or to be a movie focused on the subtleties of Hanssen's character. At many times it seems to be the latter. There are several scenes of Hanssen in mass, which he claims he goes to on a daily basis, which would seem to suggest that the movie is trying to focus on the apparent hypocracy of his character. But in the last act of the film there are two scenes which seem like they're trying to be climax of a Jason Bourne, Jack Ryan type of espionage movie. Because so much of the film before this point has been so introspective of Hanssen, they don't have the tension you would expect them to have. The movie as a whole seems somewhat slow-going and unexciting, especially considering the gravity of what both main characters are involved in. The film is interesting, but doesn't seem to exact all the potential from the true story on which it is based.

--EK