tieman64 "America's state religion is patriotism, a phenomenon which has convinced many that 'treason' is morally worse than murder or rape." - William Blum "Breach" stars Chris Cooper as Robert Hanssen, an FBI agent who spends two decades selling state secrets to the Soviet Union. In an attempt to gather incriminating evidence against Hanssen, the FBI assign agent Eric O'Neill (Ryan Phillippe) to work undercover as Hanssen's clerk."Breach" oozes Sigmund Freud. It finds Hanssen betraying his nation because he believes that it is responsible for his anonymity and impotency. Like an ignored son, Hanssen thus lashes out, desperately clamouring for "daddy" to notice him. Of course "daddy" - The Big Other qua Nation State – eventually does. Not tolerating any other avenues of power beyond its own, the United States Government promptly crushes Hanssen.The film's Oedipism extend to O'Neill. O'Neill comes from a long line of government foot-soldiers, a calling he initially rejects. But feeling that he has betrayed both the state-as-father and his literal father, O'Neill eventually joins the FBI. In short, O'Neill does the State's bidding in order to ingratiate himself with a "daddy" he feels he has abandoned, whilst Hanssen betrays the State because he feels as though "daddy" has first abandoned him. Elsewhere the film delves into Hanssen's obsession with both Catholicism and sex, the former a form of guilty penance, the latter a feeble means of asserting control.Though riveting, "Breach" isn't as good as the best "undercover" movies ("Serpico", "The Spy Who Came In From the Cold", "Donnie Brasco", "Army of Shadows", "Molly Maguires", "The Falcon and the Snowman", "Prince of the City" etc). It's too apolitical, too scared to question blind fidelity to Western Super Imperialists and their federal bodies. Indeed, "Breach" ends with text reminding us that Hanssen's leaks led to "government assets dying", a bit of emotional blackmail whose interrogation a better artist would make this film actually about. The film's stance is particularly timid in light of recent revelations surrounding full-spectrum, global surveillance; the United States now deems all of its citizens guilty of defacto treason.On the level of psycho-drama and character study, however, "Breach" is excellent. Cooper is fascinating as Hanssen – simultaneously creepy, pathetic and endearing – and the film is beautifully lit, shot, and remains quietly engrossing throughout. Caroline Dhavernas co-stars as O'Neill's clichéd "uppity wife".7.9/10 – See "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold".

classicalsteve How do you catch a spy? Very carefully. In this case, the spy worked for the FBI. So, lure him back to the agency and claim he's being "promoted". Also, to add to the mix, give him his own assistant. This is how Robert Hannsen, possibly the most notorious double-agent who spied for Soviet/Russian intelligence was eventually caught.The film begins in the early days of the George W. Bush presidential administration. John Ashcroft is the new Attorney General, head of the Department of Justice, and the FBI resides under that department. Robert Hannsen is brought back to the FBI and told that he is assigned the task of overseeing the technical side of FBI security. He is given an assistant, Eric O'Neill, who, unknown to Hannsen, is a counter-intelligence operative working undercover. O'Neill's task: to monitor Hannsen. Later, he learns the full truth: Hannsen is perhaps the most notorious of spies who traded US secrets to the Soviet Union/Russian State for over two decades. Will O'Neill be able to simultaneously play dutiful but clueless assistant, while trying to uncover the secrets about Hannsen? A good film, which is slightly different than the real story, but mostly on the mark. Apparently, O'Neill knew from the beginning about Hannsen, although in the film, he doesn't find out the whole truth until near midway through. Also, there were several very interesting episodes involving Hannsen prior to his "surveillance" which would have been very interesting to include, such as the recognition of Hannsen's voice on a tape included in a package from a Soviet informant that the government played $7 million for. (An excerpt is played in the film.) Still an excellent film, with highest marks going to Chris Cooper as Hannsen.

werefox08 This is a poor movie. Apart from Chris Cooper, the performances are not convincing. The script is flat and never feels authentic. The direction is very un--inspiring. Laura Linney is mis-cast here....but even allowing for that, she makes some shocking elementary mistakes. When she is in conversation she comes in TOO quickly with her replies. Robert Altman would have been appalled. Ryan Phillippe is completely lacking in any kind of realism...the audience always painfully aware he is acting. This may have made a good stage play (completely re-written of course), but perhaps the truth is some true stories don't make for good entertainment. Particularly when most of the actors are terrible...and the script is lousy.

Angela Peckham Here's a film with all the usual suspects of a stylish cat and mouse thriller: agents, double agents, entrapments, liars and loyalties... But as it turns out, these are mere accessories to a script which itself is a weak psychological portrait of an aging spy who doesn't really seem to be fooling anyone after all. Despite my love for Chris Cooper, his all-important character never quite feels dangerous or cunning enough to bring the audience to the edge of their seats. Plus, the writing is relatively flat for this genre - no twists, no complications, no surprises. Not that we always need to be shocked by the turn of movie events, but the plot never develops past the first motivation, to convict "the worst traitor in U.S. History." But we know he is. It's a true story, we already know the basic details. This movie fails to find the drama beneath the account. On the other hand, despite its mediocrities, the movie is still not bad. The camera-work is clean and subtle, the characters are not uninteresting, the acting works... A six star achievement. I only wish I had been convinced by the film that these events had the magnitude for a more dramatic realization.