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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Is a mystery really mysterious when the end isn't a secret? Is espionage still thrilling when you know beforehand that the cloak has been pulled back and the dagger revealed? If it's a film as good as Breach, the answer is a resounding yes. Here is a true story that's genuinely stranger than fiction: FBI agent Robert Hanssen spent over 20 years selling government secrets to the Russians, making him the most egregious traitor in U.S. history. He was an Opus Dei Catholic and a devout churchgoer who was also a sexual deviant, a straitlaced company man so trusted by his employers that they once appointed him to lead an investigation designed to reveal who the spy was--when in fact it was Hanssen himself. And in the end, he was brought down in part by 26-year-old Eric O'Neill, an agent-in-training who worked with him for just two months. Chris Cooper, a 2003 supporting actor Oscar winner for Adaptation, is brilliant in the lead role, playing Hanssen as a dour, cold, ultraconservative cipher (women in pantsuits are just one of his peeves) whose conversations more closely resemble interrogations. Ryan Phillippe is also excellent as O'Neill, who's initially kept in the dark by the superior (Laura Linney) who assigned him to help expose Hanssen's treachery; thinking he's been brought in only to gather evidence about his boss' sexual transgressions, O'Neill finds himself caught in a profound moral conundrum, grudgingly admiring Hanssen even as his own marriage is severely tested by the older man's creepy and hypocritical intrusion into their lives, not to mention the FBI's strict rules against discussing the case.
Director Billy Ray (whose previous feature was also a true story: Shattered Glass, about the young writer who fabricated stories for The New Republic) and co-screenwriters Adam Mazer and William Rotko do an extraordinary job of maintaining the tension as the story leads to the conclusion that's been revealed in the first few frames (i.e., Hanssen's arrest in February 2001); the exquisite torture of O'Neill's having to keep Hanssen distracted while Bureau technicians search the latter's car is but one example. Moreover, notwithstanding the plot developments, the filmmakers manage to keep their focus on the personal interactions that are the film's key element: the relationships that O'Neill maintains with Hanssen, his father (a cameo by Bruce Davison), his wife (Caroline Dhavernas), and others are entirely credible. At once fascinating and horrifying, Breach is inarguably one of the best films of 2007. --Sam Graham
Director Billy Ray (whose previous feature was also a true story: Shattered Glass, about the young writer who fabricated stories for The New Republic) and co-screenwriters Adam Mazer and William Rotko do an extraordinary job of maintaining the tension as the story leads to the conclusion that's been revealed in the first few frames (i.e., Hanssen's arrest in February 2001); the exquisite torture of O'Neill's having to keep Hanssen distracted while Bureau technicians search the latter's car is but one example. Moreover, notwithstanding the plot developments, the filmmakers manage to keep their focus on the personal interactions that are the film's key element: the relationships that O'Neill maintains with Hanssen, his father (a cameo by Bruce Davison), his wife (Caroline Dhavernas), and others are entirely credible. At once fascinating and horrifying, Breach is inarguably one of the best films of 2007. --Sam Graham
Product Description
Universal Breach (HD-DVD / DVD Combo) Inspired by true events, "Breach" is a gripping and intense thrillerthat takes you deep inside the halls of the FBI for a top-secret investigation to uncover the greatest breach in the history of US Intelligence. Featuring powerful performances by Chris Cooper and Ryan Phillipe, nothing is as it seems in this suspenseful, action-packed film that will keep you riveted until the climatic ending.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
71 of 74 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Breach is a nerve-wracking thriller. Based on a true story, its characters are nearly archetypical, a fact that gives the film, along with its extensive moral ambiguities, haunting power. Here, it's impossible to get away from the big themes: religion, sexuality, psychology, and professionalism are at full and merciless play.
The film is plot and character-driven, without any special effects gloss. Most of it consists of dialogue between Robert Hanssen (Chris Cooper) and Eric O'Neill (Ryan Phillippe). O'Neill is assigned to keep tabs on Hanssen, providing detailed reports to Kate Burroughs (Laura Linney). Mysterious deadlines loom, and Hanssen, a veteran of Cold War politics, is a tad suspicious of all the goings-on. Hanssen and O'Neill move from room to room, situation to situation; each scene adds a layer of suspense. Further, both men have intriguing and complex moral selves. These selves are illuminated via startling combinations of beliefs and personality traits.
Cooper is amazing as Hanssen. To my mind, he's one of the most fascinating of today's male screen personas, communicating a visible emotional depth and intensity that's fraught with ragged edges. Ryan Phillippe subtly and thoroughly transforms himself through mannerism, voice, and expression. Linney's Burroughs is, on the surface, as hard as nails; a more complicated personality is suggested when she delivers a few moments of much-needed humor, without which the film would be unbearable.
Director Billy Ray has made a film that's polished from start to finish. He and the screenwriters tell the story dispassionately, clinically; they give it an ambiance of objectivity but delay final revelations and easy summaries. Tak Fujimoto's photography is just right, particularly during that bridge sequence, when we get a sense of how quietly and in what solitude people can be betrayed. As a whole, the film has a fascinating, music-like structure.
The whole thing is unforgettable, and the extras on the DVD are great. Plunge into the suspense, but have a comedy ready to watch afterwards.
The film is plot and character-driven, without any special effects gloss. Most of it consists of dialogue between Robert Hanssen (Chris Cooper) and Eric O'Neill (Ryan Phillippe). O'Neill is assigned to keep tabs on Hanssen, providing detailed reports to Kate Burroughs (Laura Linney). Mysterious deadlines loom, and Hanssen, a veteran of Cold War politics, is a tad suspicious of all the goings-on. Hanssen and O'Neill move from room to room, situation to situation; each scene adds a layer of suspense. Further, both men have intriguing and complex moral selves. These selves are illuminated via startling combinations of beliefs and personality traits.
Cooper is amazing as Hanssen. To my mind, he's one of the most fascinating of today's male screen personas, communicating a visible emotional depth and intensity that's fraught with ragged edges. Ryan Phillippe subtly and thoroughly transforms himself through mannerism, voice, and expression. Linney's Burroughs is, on the surface, as hard as nails; a more complicated personality is suggested when she delivers a few moments of much-needed humor, without which the film would be unbearable.
Director Billy Ray has made a film that's polished from start to finish. He and the screenwriters tell the story dispassionately, clinically; they give it an ambiance of objectivity but delay final revelations and easy summaries. Tak Fujimoto's photography is just right, particularly during that bridge sequence, when we get a sense of how quietly and in what solitude people can be betrayed. As a whole, the film has a fascinating, music-like structure.
The whole thing is unforgettable, and the extras on the DVD are great. Plunge into the suspense, but have a comedy ready to watch afterwards.
101 of 113 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I served as a spy for CIA on three clandestine tours, and one of my headquarters tours was in counterintelligence, where I got to know just how un-seriously CIA takes that topic. The dirty little secret at CIA is that Ames was not the only traitor, a brand new career trainee gave up ten or so of our Soviet agents in place, all killed. In this movie, the damage that Hansen did is severely over-stated, and the facts of the matter are not as they should be, but I still give this a five star rating because the movies is absolutely top notch on the personality details.
This movie is much superior to The Good Shepard. The only other spy movies that really come close are those featuring Alec Guiness as George Smiley.
The reviewers that cannot understand motive will never understand spys and traitors. One line in this movie really grabbed me--in it, Hansen talks about how "the US can be likened to a powerfully built but retarded child." Throughout the movie, Hansen is cast as a devout even obsessive Catholic who cannot get people inside the FBI to realize how vulnerable they are, and ultimately I would conclude from the movie that the motivation may have started as a desire to prove a point, then a slow burn into addiction--making fools of those that would not listen.
The movie misrepresents the clerk as counter-spy. The FBI actually caught Hansen by going through his trash and finding the one note that he failed to destroy. Still and all the individual depictions, from the hardened solitary female senior special agent with no one in her life, not even a cat, to various others, are excellent. Especially meaningful to me is the depiction of the loving wife that becomes suspicious and then unloving because she confuses her husband's loyalty to duty and secrecy with inattention and being scorned, and of course that is rarely the case. Spies need loving trusting wives.
This and "The Falcon and the Snowman" are first rate. Anything with Alec Guiness as George Smiley is first rate. For amusement I like the more recent James Bond films, the Smiths, and True Lies.
Smiley's People (3pc) (Coll)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
The Falcon and the Snowman
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Widescreen Edition)
Casino Royale (Two-Disc Widescreen Edition)
True Lies
Wedge: From Pearl Harbor to 9/11--How the Secret War between the FBI and CIA Has Endangered National Security
Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA
Deep Cover: The Inside Story of How DEA Infighting, Incompetence and Subterfuge Lost Us the Biggest Battle of the Drug War
Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, the Press & 'Project Truth'
This movie is much superior to The Good Shepard. The only other spy movies that really come close are those featuring Alec Guiness as George Smiley.
The reviewers that cannot understand motive will never understand spys and traitors. One line in this movie really grabbed me--in it, Hansen talks about how "the US can be likened to a powerfully built but retarded child." Throughout the movie, Hansen is cast as a devout even obsessive Catholic who cannot get people inside the FBI to realize how vulnerable they are, and ultimately I would conclude from the movie that the motivation may have started as a desire to prove a point, then a slow burn into addiction--making fools of those that would not listen.
The movie misrepresents the clerk as counter-spy. The FBI actually caught Hansen by going through his trash and finding the one note that he failed to destroy. Still and all the individual depictions, from the hardened solitary female senior special agent with no one in her life, not even a cat, to various others, are excellent. Especially meaningful to me is the depiction of the loving wife that becomes suspicious and then unloving because she confuses her husband's loyalty to duty and secrecy with inattention and being scorned, and of course that is rarely the case. Spies need loving trusting wives.
This and "The Falcon and the Snowman" are first rate. Anything with Alec Guiness as George Smiley is first rate. For amusement I like the more recent James Bond films, the Smiths, and True Lies.
Smiley's People (3pc) (Coll)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
The Falcon and the Snowman
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Widescreen Edition)
Casino Royale (Two-Disc Widescreen Edition)
True Lies
Wedge: From Pearl Harbor to 9/11--How the Secret War between the FBI and CIA Has Endangered National Security
Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA
Deep Cover: The Inside Story of How DEA Infighting, Incompetence and Subterfuge Lost Us the Biggest Battle of the Drug War
Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, the Press & 'Project Truth'
33 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
When Robert Hanssen was arrested in 2001 for espionage, he was the biggest betrayer of his country in United States history. He was also one of the very few who did it for reasons other than money. "Breach" introduces us to Hanssen and the world that he inhabited at the F.B.I. through the story of Eric O'Neill, who spent 2 months working closely with Hanssen in order to obtain evidence against him. This account is fictionalized in some aspects, but it strives to be a character study of sharp, duplicitous Hanssen as well as a tense, compelling drama. F.B.I. surveillance operative Eric O'Neill (Ryan Phillippe) is assigned by Special Agent Kate Burroughs (Laura Linney) to work under Robert Hanssen (Chris Cooper), a talented 25-year veteran agent, allegedly in order to find evidence that Hanssen is a pornographer. Eric comes to respect Hanssen's maverick ways and insight in spite of his gruff, threatening manner and eventually questions the case against his boss.
The scenario is naturally suspenseful: Hanssen is a master of deception, so deceiving him is a challenge. Eric learns to exploit Hanssen's ego and his obsessive religiosity -he was a member of Opus Dei- to gain his trust. The situation is urgent. The Bureau must catch Hanssen red-handed, selling secrets to the Russians, before he retires in a few months. "Breach"'s brilliance is in its layered presentation of Hanssen and his professional life. We know the outcome but are captivated by the finer points. The characters constantly lie to disguise their agendas. Hanssen is right about many things, but his ideals are at the mercy of his overwhelming spite and egoism. Hanssen would be a distasteful character even if he were not a spy whose actions resulted in 3 deaths. But Chris Cooper's extraordinary performance inspires the audience's sympathy and our revulsion at the same time. I can't praise this taut, smart script enough, and Chris Cooper's work may be the most memorable performance this year.
The DVD (Universal 2007): There are 3 featurettes, 2 alternate and 8 deleted scenes with optional commentary, and an audio commentary by writer/director Billy Ray and the real Eric O'Neill. "Breaching the Truth" (10 min) interviews the director, creative team, cast and the real Eric O'Neill and wife Juliana about how the movie came to be made and challenges of making a film about real people and events. In "Anatomy of a Character" (7 min), Chris Cooper, Billy Ray, and Eric O'Neill talk about the character of Hanssen, including preparation for the role. "The Mole" (19 min) is a production about the Hanssen case that aired on "Dateline" in March 2001 which offers more detail about his espionage. The audio commentary by Billy Ray and Eric O'Neill is good. They take us through each scene, Ray discussing his intentions, story, characters, sets, and what is fictionalized. O'Neill talks about his experiences with the Hanssen case. Subtitles are available for the film in English SDH, Spanish, and French.
The scenario is naturally suspenseful: Hanssen is a master of deception, so deceiving him is a challenge. Eric learns to exploit Hanssen's ego and his obsessive religiosity -he was a member of Opus Dei- to gain his trust. The situation is urgent. The Bureau must catch Hanssen red-handed, selling secrets to the Russians, before he retires in a few months. "Breach"'s brilliance is in its layered presentation of Hanssen and his professional life. We know the outcome but are captivated by the finer points. The characters constantly lie to disguise their agendas. Hanssen is right about many things, but his ideals are at the mercy of his overwhelming spite and egoism. Hanssen would be a distasteful character even if he were not a spy whose actions resulted in 3 deaths. But Chris Cooper's extraordinary performance inspires the audience's sympathy and our revulsion at the same time. I can't praise this taut, smart script enough, and Chris Cooper's work may be the most memorable performance this year.
The DVD (Universal 2007): There are 3 featurettes, 2 alternate and 8 deleted scenes with optional commentary, and an audio commentary by writer/director Billy Ray and the real Eric O'Neill. "Breaching the Truth" (10 min) interviews the director, creative team, cast and the real Eric O'Neill and wife Juliana about how the movie came to be made and challenges of making a film about real people and events. In "Anatomy of a Character" (7 min), Chris Cooper, Billy Ray, and Eric O'Neill talk about the character of Hanssen, including preparation for the role. "The Mole" (19 min) is a production about the Hanssen case that aired on "Dateline" in March 2001 which offers more detail about his espionage. The audio commentary by Billy Ray and Eric O'Neill is good. They take us through each scene, Ray discussing his intentions, story, characters, sets, and what is fictionalized. O'Neill talks about his experiences with the Hanssen case. Subtitles are available for the film in English SDH, Spanish, and French.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing Story of Treason
The most remarkable think is how much Chris Cooper resembles Robert Hanssen. Nobody could have played the role so well.
Published 11 days ago by David C. Sullivan
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good, action suspense kind of flick
I thought this was a pretty good movie. It was pretty hilarious that it seems to have a nice subset of the bourne movies acting in it. Read more
Published 11 days ago by Daniel S. Mayer
5.0 out of 5 stars
My favorite film
Very underrated. Suspenseful, thought provoking, and supremely interesting. This is one of the most underrated movies out there. Based on a true story! Read more
Published 1 month ago by Daniel
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful
As always, this rating was chosen simply because I was overall pleased with my purchase and the quality of this product was excellent. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Lex Pk C
4.0 out of 5 stars
True Story...maybe?
Breach movie talks about an American who was spied on CIA for Soviet. A young man tried to catch proof that he was a spy agent. I gave four stars.
Published 1 month ago by polaroid seeker
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting True Story. Glacial Pace. Good Acting. Well Done.
My bargain-rack movie for last night was the "Breach" DVD starring Chris Cooper and Ryan Philippe. It was one of those movies that has spies. Then there are counter spies. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Gary Peterson
4.0 out of 5 stars
Slow-Burning Political Thriller
"Breach" is a tense and slow-burning political thriller that boasts an outstanding performance from Chris Cooper as Robert Hanssen, the man responsible for the biggest breach... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Dan Thompson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Surprise ending!
This on will require your attention. Must watch closely to keep up with the movie.
Very interesting TRUE FBI story of Spy Agent...You will like this one.
Very interesting TRUE FBI story of Spy Agent...You will like this one.
Published 2 months ago by Bill Pon Cavage
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Ultimate Movie Review! - [...] - @tss5078
Breach is a movie based on actual events, in which a rookie FBI agent goes undercover to find a Russian spy inside the U.S. Government. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Todd Smith
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good movie
Working in the DC area, really liked this movie. Makes aware of what might be happening in the city I work in.
Published 3 months ago by Robert Wheaton
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