Breach is the true story about the F.B.I.'s capture of the worst spy in American history — and one of it's own — one Robert Hanssen. But this is much more than a tale about the cloak and dagger intricacies of espionage. It is also a riveting character study of Hanssen himself, who is brilliantly portrayed as a deeply conflicted man — one who is equal parts genius and sociopath — by Oscar winner Chris Cooper.
Hanssen is a guy who wears the same conservative suit daily, and who attends church every single day like clockwork. Although he admits that the Russians are smarter and more devious, he chalks up their downfall to their "godlessness." This is a guy who has a cross on his office wall, and keeps religious icons on his desk. What makes all of this so fascinating is that this doesn't appear to be a cover at all — the apparent patriotism and religious devotion appear to be absolutely genuine. You want conservative? This guy's favorite band is the Andrews Sisters.
But lying beneath the surface of this postcard for family values, there are secrets. What good is a spy story without them, right? Here is a guy with more dualities than a pair of Siamese twins. Hanssen is portrayed here as a brilliant, but deeply bitter man. By day his life is religiously ordered, while by night he secretly makes home pornos of rough sex with his wife, without her knowledge. At work, he is impersonal in his relationships with subordinates, as well as authoritarian and anal retentive to a fault. He is also a computer genius who the movie paints as equally frustrated and misunderstood. If there ever was a sympathetic portrayal of a creepy guy, this is it.
On the other side of the coin, we get Ryan Phillippe's turn as Eric O'Neill, the agent who brought Hanssen down. O'Neill is portrayed by Phillippe as an immediately likeable, if somewhat cocky guy. But his heart of hearts appears to be in all the right places. He loves his wife deeply, and he is morally conflicted at first when he feels that the F.B.I.'s case against Hanssen is bullshit. Playing the gopher to Hanssen's boss, O'Neill respects him even if there doesn't appear to be much to like about him.
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