Film Review

09 January 2009 02:50 BST

Breach

Directed by Billy Ray, out August 31st in cinemas, starring Chris Cooper, Ryan Phillipe and Laura Linney, running time 110 minutes.

In a nutshell…

A tense and tightly-woven true-life espionage tale in which Chris Cooper does a brilliant job portraying a paranoid and neurotic FBI agent spying for the Russians.

What's it all about?

The bringing to justice of Robert Hanssen, who's spying for the Russians has been called "the worst intelligence disaster in US history". Novice agent Eric O'Neill (Ryan Phillipe) is assigned to pose as Hanssen's new assistant, while in fact putting enough evidence together to catch him in the act. Laura Linney is the cynical but driven agent running O'Neill and in charge of bringing the spy down.

This film plunges the viewer into the shadowy and dangerous world of espionage and the contradictory and seemingly sociopathic psyche of Hanssen. On the outside he is a devout Catholic, a family man and a long-serving FBI agent. Yet he somehow manages to combine this with being a sexual deviant and a spy for the Russians.

Hanssen's tense and complicated relationship with O'Neill drives this movie. The interchange between the two men as Hanssen, the embittered veteran, seeks to become a father-figure to O'Neill, who, despite the overwhelming evidence against Hanssen, is conflicted about his task of vanquishing the older man.

Who's in it?

The talented Chris Cooper plays Hanssen, the introverted, obsessive and highly mistrustful spy whose days are numbered. His performance is nuanced to a tee and makes this movie what it is – gripping.

Ryan Phillipe portrays the young and naive O'Neill who is given the assignment of spying on the spy. His youthful energy is perfect for the role.

Laura Linney is Kate Burroughs, merciless, cold, but with flashes of humanity as the movie climaxes. One of her best performances.

As an example…

O'Neill: My name is Eric

Hanssen: Your name is clerk and my name is Sir or Boss if you can manage. And if I ever catch you in my office again, you'll be p***ing purple.

Likelihood of a trip to the Oscars…

As good as this film is, probably not. It's tightly filmed and edited, and very well acted, but isn't the kind of evocative, poignant movie that usually gets an Oscar nomination. It also doesn't push many boundaries.

So is it any good?

Very good. A breath of fresh air from a Hollywood that seems to become more obsessed with high-budget rock-em sock-ems or sophomoric comedies ever year. This movie won't be everyone's cup of tea, some may find it moves too slow, others that it doesn't have enough action. But the fascinating character of Hanssen and the suspense involved in taking down this master spy will be enough for most.

While Cooper has been around for a long time, he doesn't usually get to show off his talents to this level, often being consigned to supporting roles. But he was perfectly cast for this movie and effortlessly steals any scene that he is in. His rather ravaged-looking face manages to convey more in single glance than most actors could in an entire dialogue and, let's face it, nobody portrays a bitter man quite like Cooper. So stirring is his performance that by the end of the movie he has somehow managed to leave one feeling something close to sympathy for what on the surface may seem a thoroughly unredeemable character.

Phillipe also does a good job, however his role as a young agent is nowhere near as demanding as Cooper's. Linney meanwhile well cast and seems less self-conscious than she often has in past movies. In this one she has captured something that has often eluded her in the past - believability. Overall, there should be more movies like this, based on a true, fascinating story, and supported by unadulterated good acting.

7/10

Joseph Corcos

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