Film Review: Breach
Chris Cooper gives one of his most inspiring performances in the film BREACH as Robert Hanssen, an FBI agent who is secretly selling American intelligence to the Russians. Based on the true story of one of the most infamous cases of terrorism and treason in the history of our country, BREACH is a fierce look at the political under-pinnings of our country and the lengths to which it will go to publicly unroot a mole within their ranks.
Ryan Phillippe is equally good as Eric O’Neill, Hanssen’s “underling” who is really a spy sent in to gather evidence of Hanssen’s guilt. This is all the ingredients of a well-meaning suspense thriller but screenwriters Adam Mazer & Wiiliam Rotko and Billy Ray (who also directs) present a complex story about family, truth, and the secrets that can destroy a person’s self worth.
The film is filled with equally compelling performances by Carolina Dhavernas as Eric’s wife Juliana and Laura Linney as Eric’s boss Kate Burroughs, who represents what the end result of life in the FBI is really like. The film is filled with great turns from Kathleen Quinlan, Gary Cole, and Dennis Haybert.
Similar in tone to DONNIE BRASCO, BREACH makes you question just how much of yourself is lost when trying to portray someone else. A sense of identity is questioned and the realization that you may never get it back is more terrifying than the alternative. Very few films ask us, as the audience, to pose these complex questions of ourselves and this film is one of the few that truly entertains and engages.
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