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25 June, 2007

Breach - Movie Review


Breach is one of those movies that I thought "probably going to be pretty good, but I can wait to rent it" and so I did. It did take over a week for us to get around to watching it, however, as we assumed it would be the type of film you really have to concentrate on. Like the Good Shepard, which is also based on true events. I felt that breach was more straight forward than I had thought and everything was explained clearly and when it needed to be.
It is the story of the FBI's greatest security breach in history told from the view of the rookie who has to surveillance his boss, the spy and cause of the breach, whilst working as his clerk. This enabled the plot to unfold steadily as the rookie, Eric O'Neill (Ryan Phillippe) discovers more about the spy Robert Hanssen (Chris Cooper), and about the true nature of the surveillance mission. The film almost manages to make the viewer sympathetic to Robert Hanssen. On the outside, he commands respect, is deeply religious, has a family that loves him and is devoted to the FBI. This makes the film all the more compelling to watch as you really just want to dislike the traitoe. I think it is due mostly to the excellent performance by Chris Cooper who makes Robert Hanssen look intelligent, resourceful, insightful and downright mean at times, but always human.


Rating: 7/10

Comments: A decent thriller told simply and without a hollywood action ending taint.

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