Breach

Plot synopsis:
Eric O'Neill (Ryan Phillippe) is a young FBI employee assigned to work undercover as a clerk to Robert Hanssen (Chris Cooper), a senior agent he is told is suspected of being a sexual deviant. Hanssen has been recalled from a detail post at the State Department to FBI headquarters ostensibly to head up a new division specializing in Information Assurance. Initially, Hanssen insists on a strict formality between the two men. He frequently rails against the bureaucracy of the FBI and complains that only those who regularly "shoot guns" are considered for senior positions instead of those, like himself, who are involved in vital national security matters. He calls the bureau's information technology systems antiquated and laments the lack of coordination and information exchange with other intelligence agencies.
Eventually, Hanssen becomes a friend and mentor to O'Neill and takes a personal interest in him and his wife Juliana (Caroline Dhavernas), who is suspicious of Hanssen and resents his intrusions. A devout Catholic who is also a member of Opus Dei, Hanssen urges O'Neill, a lapsed Catholic, and his secular East German-born wife to become active churchgoers.
O'Neill finds no evidence of Hanssen leading a secret double life and develops a growing respect for his boss, so he confronts his handler in the undercover assignment, Kate Burroughs (Laura Linney), and she admits that the sexual deviance allegations are only a secondary consideration. Hanssen is suspected of spying for the Soviet Union and Russia for years and being responsible for the deaths of agents working for the United States. He learns that FBI Director Louis Freeh is personally leading the investigation.
While the FBI could arrest Hanssen under lesser charges, they want to catch him in an act of espionage, so they can threaten him with the death penalty for treason and possibly induce him to divulge the information he has compromised. O'Neill is ordered to obtain data from Hanssen's Palm Pilot and keep him occupied while FBI agents search his car and plant covert listening devices in it.
The tracking devices in Hanssen's car cause interference with the radio, which makes Hanssen suspicious. He also wonders why he was placed in an isolated position in the FBI only a few months before he's scheduled to retire. He tells O'Neill he believes he is being watched by Russian agents. The FBI intercepts a message he sends to his Russian handlers saying he will not provide any more information. O'Neill persuades Hanssen that he is not being trailed by the Russians or by him on behalf of the FBI. With his confidence restored, Hanssen makes one last dead drop of stolen information, and the FBI catches him in the act.
Although he is assured promotion, O'Neill is discouraged with the toll the case has taken on his marriage and opts to leave the agency. When O'Neill leaves his office with his belongings, he unexpectedly encounters Hanssen in an elevator being escorted by arresting officers. Hanssen tells O'Neill to "Pray for me" and O'Neill promises that he will.

Tags: suspenseful, intrigue, psychedelic, murder, flashback

Review:
This is widely considered to be the worst case of treason in the history of American intelligence."Breach" looks at the story through the eyes of Eric O'Neill, the young, up-and-coming junior agent assigned by investigators in the bureau to spy on Hanssen.
In the position of personal assistant to Hanssen, O'Neill works to uncover evidence against his boss that will help to strengthen the legal case gradually being built against him."Breach" is a fairly solid political thriller, less concerned with big action scenes than with examining the relationship between these two very different men set in unwitting opposition to one another.
"Breach" does a wonderful job of taking theses slightly exaggerated parts to increase the feeling of drama and suspense, and doing it the right way.Another bright spot is Oscar Winner Chris Cooper's fantastic portrayal of Hanssen.
Chris Cooper, already an established actor, gives the performance of a lifetime as Robert Hansen, the FBI agent arrested for 25 years of espionage against the United States.
Normally we only get these type of scenarios in LeCarre novels, but the story of FBI agent Robert Hanssen is a real life nightmare.Perfect casting has Chris Cooper as the very odd Hanssen who has nearly 25 years with the bureau, many of which have been spent selling off national secrets to the Soviet Union.
Caroline Dhavernas is an actress I am not familiar with, but her performance here has me intrigued.The weak link in the film is Ryan Phillipe, who just doesn't possess the acting chops to pull off the pivotal role of Eric O'Neill - the agent wannabe who gets thrust into the crucial position of bringing Hanssen down.
In 2001, the FBI clerk Eric O'Neill (Ryan Phillippe), who is a specialist in computer but wants to be an agent, is invited by agent Kate Burroughs (Laura Linney) to work with the senior agent Robert Hanssen (Chris Cooper) that had worked for many years in Soviet Union and now is assigned to protect the agency against electronic infiltration.
Eric decides to go on in his assignment despite his friendship with Hanssen and the problems in his marriage."Breach" is an engaging and dramatic spy movie based on the true story of an FBI agent that was arrested for spying on 20 February 2001.
I bought this DVD many years ago and only yesterday I decided to watch it and I found a great film.The plot is developed in adequate pace and supported by magnificent performances of Chris Cooper, Ryan Phillippe and Laura Linney.
Breach is based on the true story of the capture of Robert Hanssen, an FBI agent responsible for many treasonous acts against the United States.
Caroline Dhavernas as Eric's European wife who wants Eric to come clean about his job, Gary Cole as another agent, and Dennis Haysbert as Linney's superior round out the fine cast in a film that slowly but surely builds up suspense in the various ways of snooping that brings the bureau closer to catching Hanssen in the act of treason.
This grabs your senses and allows you to feel the close calls that take place, with the lead character (Ryan Phillipe) Eric O'Neill, right along with an unexpected treat of a performance that Chris Cooper gave!!
We had the opportunity to see the film and engage in a Q&A with writer/director Billy Ray.The movie was so tightly written and portrayed events in such a way that in a very short amount of time you understood so much more than was covered by all of the books and newspaper accounts of the incident involving Robert Hanssen.The acting was fantastic with Chris Cooper way out in front giving another amazing performance.The Q&A with Billy Ray revealed a man who is so skilled at his craft and so methodical and strategic yet at the same time plagued by unnecessary insecurity.
Exactly how much damage Hanssen did isn't public knowledge which hurts the film because you never get a real grasp of what a "bad guy" this man was and, hence, you don't feel as satisfied at the ending of the movie as you should.
If knew a little more of what harm this man did, there were no sympathy.Anyway, the acting is superb led by Cooper, of course, as Hanssen and ably supported by Ryan Phillippe as FBI clerk "Eric O'Neill," who brought him down, and Laura Linney as FBI agent "Kate Burroughs," who recruited O'Neill for the job.
"Breach" of Billy Ray is based on a true story about Robert Hanssen (Chris Cooper).
But even without that "Breach" is recommendable movie with great Chris Cooper in main role and with solid support from Ryan Phillippe and Laura Linney.
He shows Hanssen as religious man and one of the last lines when they meet in the elevator (what are the chances?) is: "Pray for me." After Hanssen asks that in tears, Eric replies: "I will." That last lines surely never happened in real life but they needed a movie ending and I think most of people will feel a bit sorry for Hanssen.
With Dennis Haysbert, you know you're in good hands.Chris Cooper, Ryan Phillippe, and Laura Linney (she's amazing) all put on a great performance to convince the viewers they clearly portray their characters.
The script is creative and fresh, this isn't just another espionage film, it's history.It might be hard, but it's best to hold off on the Wikipedia, but some names you might want to look up afterward are Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen, as well as O'Neill.I absolutely adore this film, the fact that it's based on a true story allows one to give it time to set up the plot before it dives in head first with tons of suspense and a story that seems too intense to be true.Enjoy this film, then remember the names and know your piece of American history.
Kate Burroughs (Laura Linney) gives him the chance to be fast-tracked by assigning him the mission to work with Hanssen (Chris Cooper), a senior agent who had been an expert in counter-intelligence against the Soviets and now a computer expert and leading the FBI's efforts against cyber attacks.
This movie was interesting because it guided you into the minds of the trader as well as the betrayed.The movie was fast paced and flowed well without a lot of unnecessary dialog typical of a "based on a true story" movie.It was an interesting look into our government and the human ego at the same time.The writers did an excellent job of finding a way to show how many people were effected on so many levels and in so many varying ways.The surprising thing is that you end up feeling compassion for everyone including the very person responsible for so much pain.
Based on a true story that took place in the nation's capital only a few years back, "Breach" details the entrapment of master spy Robert Hanssen, who irreparably damaged the country's security over many years and today languishes in a federal prison.
O'Neill must keep his work secret even from his wife, which becomes increasingly problematic as Hanssen invades their home not only via work, but also with his proselytizing for Catholicism.With three fine performances, a perhaps-too-tight script, and crisp direction by Billy Ray, "Breach" is engrossing film-making.
The stories about espionage appeared on a lot of movies.But we have seen two types of it.One type belongs to the shallow blockbusters with explosions and action but the other ones show the dark life of the spy.That movies(like The Conversation or The Tailor of Panama)do not focus on the spy who drives very expensive cars in the French coast who has the company of women while he shoots projectiles with his Seiko watch.That movies focus on the dangerous life of the spy who lives with fear and paranoia.The amazing movie Breach does the second style.We have not got shallow action scenes in here...this movie shows us how dangerous being a spy can be.Breach is,for the moment,the best film of 2007.The notable thing about this movie is that it could keep me all the time with suspense and tension and the movie shows us complex and fascinating characters.In 2003,the excellent actor Chris Cooper won a lot of recognition with his performance in Adaptation.After that film,we could see him as very different characters.But,on Breach,he brings the best performance of his career.His work in here is amazing.Ryan Phillipe is also great on his character and he surprised me because his work on other movies he had not stood out very much.Behind the perfect tension Breach produces on the spectator,we can see a critic to the United States.So,this movie also makes us think and go beyond to it and I found that perfect.Breach is an extraordinary film and a pleasure for the lovers of the cinema.The best film of 2007 so far..
Chris Cooper is amazing in this role, which hopefully will not be overlooked by the Academy Awards.Also in this all-star cast is Ryan Philippe, who plays Eric O'Neill, an FBI agent sent undercover to investigate Hansson.
Dennis Haysbert, Gary Cole, Kathleen Quinlan, and newcomer Caroline Dhavernas also pitch in with stellar performances.The real Eric O'Neill served as a consultant on this film and based on the bonus features on the DVD, it sounds like Cooper's portrayal was right on.
This was a strange and complex contradiction in this man, his faith and honor juxtaposed with such a high level of treachery, but that combination was what made this story so interesting as it unfolded.Breach's intense and often scary story has been well told by others, so I'll comment on things like the great good sense of the movie industry to finally make intelligent films like this one for folks tired of testosterone-overload action thrillers, and for finally coming to realize that putting great actors with regular faces in top starring roles, such as the marvelous Chris Cooper, instead of putting Newmans and Redfords and the like in them primarily for their ticket-selling sex appeal, is a move toward greater realism that will only help the overall credibility of all future intelligent films.Chris Cooper....what can I say about him that has not been praised by others?......this man is a gift to the movie industry and to us as he has a sincerity and gravitas nearly unmatched in the industry.
Billy Ray's dramatization of FBI upstart Eric O'Neill's (Phillippe) work to ingratiate himself with Robert Hanssen (Cooper) in order to suss out the man's history of espionage is told in an unpretentious manner of arrogance: despite it's ambition, the film is cocky, often pushy, and even quite boring.
The movie starts out with young agent wanna be Eric O' Neill(Ryan Phillipe) is giving the case of a lifetime, when he assigned to spy on F.B.I agent Robert Hanssen, who is suspected of being a traitor.
"Breach" tells the true story of Robert Hanssen, America's worst spy and traitor, through the eyes of Eric O'Neill, one of the many FBI personnel who was assigned to gathering evidence against Hanssen.Chris Cooper, handsome and slim, looks nothing like the fat, oily, ugly Hanssen.
But Cooper, like the rest of the cast, puts in an intense, believable performance.Ryan Philippe, as Eric O'Neill, on whose accounts the film is based, is okay as a young newlywed trying -- trying too hard, in the eyes of his coworkers -- to become an FBI agent, and who is ambiguous about that ambition.Philippe has the appropriate youth, callowness, and skill, but he never really communicates a sense of the precariousness of his position.
Not that it's a bad thing: It's quite reassuring to know that one director is consistent at directing solid and interesting real-world drama/thrillers with fascinating stories, high production value and fascinating characters.Finally, I must also comment on the musical score, which immediately caught my attention and which, at first, I thought was something out of Philip Glass' notebooks until a little patience during the credits revealed that it was one Mychael Danna, who had actually composed some absolutely fantastic film scores over the years in even more fantastic movies: Little Miss Sunshine, Capote, The Sweet Hereafter, The Ice Storm the list goes on.
Indeed, just about everything in this film is good  even great  but never exceeds into excellency, except for perhaps Chris Cooper's absolutely fascinating and powerhouse performance as Hanssen.
This fictionalized account of the greatest security breach in US history is this year's first great film, and so far the best of this short year.In February of 2001, longtime FBI intelligence officer Robert Hanssen was arrested for disclosing valuable information about the US and its allies to Russia, he would ultimately be convicted and become known as the biggest traitor in America's history.
They finally narrow it down to agent and computer whiz Robert Hanssen(Chris Cooper,in just "another day at the office" as an effective,nuanced character performance),and have just enough dirt on him to start a case,but yet to catch him in the act.
This time, he is an employee of the FBI, who is assigned the task of investigating and helping to arrest the most dangerous spy ever to infiltrate the FBI, Robert Hanssen, who is played by Chris Cooper, in a nuanced performance.
It helps that he's playing off a great veteran character actor like Chris Cooper, who (as you can imagine) steals the film.
Robert Hanssen played by Academy Award winner (Best Supporting Actor), Chris Cooper, is the main character for this film titled Breach.
When he was caught he said this, "Perhaps now they'll listen." Will you listen?Breach has a strong leading cast in Chris Cooper, Ryan Phillippe and Laura Linney and equally good supporting cast in Dennis Haysbert, Caroline Dhavernas, Gary Cole and Kathleen Quinlan.
BREACH is an intelligent and well developed and written Thriller that keeps you glued to the screen to watch Chris Cooper "turn and twist" with his character until the final scene, with excellent performances from Ryan Phillippe and the magnificent Laura Linney.
Youthful F.B.I. agent Ryan Phillippe (as Eric O'Neill) is assigned undercover work as clerk to senior agent Chris Cooper (as Robert Hanssen), who is approaching retirement age.
Thankfully one decent film managed to escape in good condition this year; Breach, the new thriller based on the true story of the greatest security breach in U.S. history.Ryan Phillippe plays Eric O'Neill, a smart, young FBI rookie determined to make the rank of an official agent for the bureau.
this is the kinda movie that really makes you think,, for the most part i really enjoyed this movie, it tells the story of the most dangerous spy ever, one so smart that they picked him years before to head up a team ot figure out who the mole was, and it was him all along,, played by Chris Cooper who i really never heard of he plays Robert Hansen a career FBI man 25 years, so how along the way he turned bad, maybe nobody thought he was important enough, or wasn't like the rest of the guys, who knows what turned him,, Ryan Phillipe had a great role as Bob Hansen's understudy, he also did a fine job acting,, Laura Linney was also very good in her role as an FBI agent in this one,, and Dennis Haysbert, best known to me for his work in 24, also has a small part in the movie that he plays very well,, the only knock, if you can call it that is that i wish that the movie would have went back in time to when he first turned spy in the mid 80's, but then i guess it would have had to been a 6 hour movie instead..
That's not the case with "Breach." Based on the true story of FBI agent turned Russian spy Robert Hanssen (played brilliantly by Chris Cooper) the movie offers an entirely believable (partly because of the lack of Bond-esquire thrills) account of how Hannsen was eventually captured.
It is considered the greatest security breach in the US history.Most of the story is set in a FBI office and involves two main characters - Robert Hanssen (Chris Cooper) and Eric O'Neill (Ryan Phillipe).
"Breach" is comparatively slow in speed and there aren't too many characters, but keeps the audience engrossed.The story goes like this - Eric O'Neill, a computer specialist who aspires to be made an agent, is assigned to clerk for Hanssen, but his real job is to keep an eye on his boss and write down all his activities and pass it on to Kate Burroughs (Laura Linney.) Initially, O'Neill's is not aware of the whole truth.
How he manages to trap Hanssen leads to the climax of the film.Playing real-life character is not an easy job but Chris Cooper's flawless performance makes it an interesting watch.
It's hard for a well-known true-life story like that of Robert Hanssen to be made into anything more than a made-for-TV movie(which it was), but Chris Cooper's performance alone sets it apart.
This is not seven or silence of the lambs but is one of the best thrillers i have seen in recent years, it is based on a true story and the director makes it a point that the plot twists are very believable.Chris Cooper plays robert hanssen , the man who was found guilty of selling secrets to Russia for close to 21 years of his service with the FBI and now the beaureau has put a man on his tail (ryan phillipe)who is the real revelation in this film .
I liked this movie a lot...not only is it adventurous it penetrates a lot into the human character...what the message it transmits is that u can never know someone...people are not as they appear to be...Robert Hanssen, portrayed by Chris Cooper is a successful intelligence officer, with a lot of experience and a splendid background...but rumours appear that he is not loyal, so Eric O'Neill, portrayed by Ryan Phillippe is sent to investigate..As a psychological thriller i found it very good one...it explores a lot the psychology of the traitor...