"Breach" (2007) - Movie Review

He goes to church almost daily. He does not drink. He is terse and aware of his surroundings more than anyone in a place. This is the Robert Hanssen, Chris Cooper is portraying for the movie “Breach” directed by Billy Ray, which is based on the true events of the secretive operation of Eric O’ Neill of FBI to nail him down for his compromise of classified materials and human lives against US Government.

Billy Ray is very good at bringing out the official environments of peculiar places. He was able to bring out the press ambience in “Shattered Glass”. He does it here with a different touch of thriller with psychological chess game in between two equally skilled agents. The viewers see the then US Attorney General, John Ashcroft addressing the press revealing the security breach which had been going on. He also announces that the person in the FBI, Robert Hanssen has been arrested for the same. The movie then goes back two months and shows ambitious Eric O’ Neill (Ryan Phillipe) getting briefed by Agent Burroughs to collect details and evidence against Robert Hanssen for being a “sexual deviant” which would cause embarrassment for the bureau. Of course Eric questions back after a while, on what exactly they are investigating Robert for. The remaining movie deals with how Robert and Eric play this unknown game of suspicion, betrayal and courage.

The film races on with consistent fall of events. Chris Cooper nails the character and brings in the untold doubting radar in Robert. He has eyes in back of his head. He is under constant wariness and alert. He never gives out any piece of slightest doubt to Eric. He behaves as a regular retiring FBI agent who complains that he never got the appreciation he deserves. He is phenomenally religious and unbelievably creepy. He likes Eric due to his technical skills and also that he is “Catholic”. Eric on the other hand is the young aspirant who is waiting for his promotion as an Agent in the bureau. He agrees the assignment with some concerns but hopes that obeying the superiors would bring some good to his career. Once he gets to know what he is really into, he plays all his cards. He profiled Robert better and deceives him in his own style. At any point of time, he does now let loose of his anxiety or pressure inside him to show up. The film never slows down at all. There is always this air of thousand eyes in the screen which makes the viewer to be on watch always. As the movie involves the game of deception, they made sure it is played with right mix of entertainment reality.

Chris Cooper is brilliant as usual. He is able to fit in the suit of agency employee with convenience. At the initial sequence, the viewers may get the tone of him being a tight guy with no liking for anyone. Immediately after some couple of sequences, he amazingly gives the character this outline of unknowingly trusting the character of Eric. Chris Cooper comes out with great emphatic colours to fill in the screen with the unusual liking for this demoniac secretive character. After the movie, the viewers realize that they did not like the character but the man who gave the best performance of his acting skills. Ryan Phillipe comes with an impressive role play of Eric O’ Neill who is mounting the pressure both in his professional and personal life. Somewhere in the middle of the movie, his eyes tone down. That represents the internal war of the character to hide the most crucial factor which hangs his marriage on the edge. Laura Linney as Agent Burroughs adds the authority trust to character of Eric similar to what Martin Sheen does in “The Departed”. Support cast did well with Dennis Haybert, Caroline Dhavernas and Kathleen Quinlan.

There is lot of strong sequences in the movie which captures the dialogues exhibiting the stand of characters. The film says that nothing is as it seems. Along with Eric, the viewers initially doubt on whether the FBI is trying to remove Robert. Knowing that he is the “bad guy”, the viewers know and Eric is given the idea of, the movie seeds those doubts even with the truth out of the bag. The film conveniently hides some nice value related concepts here and there. Close watch would bring the concept of purpose of life, the art of quitting and the action-consequences of one person. The “Why”, most of the times do not make sense in a situation especially like this. The movie is not a search of “Why” but “How”. It is “how” Robert fell for his own actions. It is the truth that everyone needs to pay their dues for their actions of betrayal. The “Why” may bring in the answers for picking oneself up from the ditches of sins but there is always limits.

“Breach” is not only entertaining but gives the horrific truth about on how one can easily exchange lives for a silent war fare. It warns that it is not always what it looks like on the common actions of a person.