Breach finally breaks free

By Frank D'Adamo
Collegian Staff
February 28, 2007

Even though it is still the beginning of the year, I was under the unfortunate impression that there would be no movie awards next year. Most of the films that I have encountered at this point have been beyond awful, and it was almost as if I was praying for a miracle. But then my fear came to a halt when I saw Breach.

Breach is directed by Billy Ray and stars Chris Cooper, Ryan Phillippe and Laura Linney in this remarkable true story about an FBI agent who was the most dangerous spy in FBI history, working for the Soviet Union. Cooper plays the difficult-to-read FBI agent and 20-year spy, Robert Hanssen. Phillippe’s character is Eric O’Neill, who, while attempting to become an agent, is assigned by Agent Burroughs (Linney) to the biggest case in FBI history — he has to go undercover as an assistant to Hanssen.

Watching the movie, I found myself confused, but in a good way. The film is a true story: Hanssen has been caught and is serving 23 life sentences. However, I see this character and feel almost sympathetic. It’s said best in the movie when Agent Burroughs says, “His grandchildren do love him.”

Other than that, the whole storyline in general is amazing. There are many scenes where O’Neill is almost caught but manages to save himself. One stellar scene in particular is when O’Neill uploads Hanssen’s palm pilot onto another one for evidence. When O’Neill finishes he forgets which pocket in Hanssen’s briefcase originally held it. Just the buildup of suspense as to where a palm pilot went in a brief case is great. The audience knows from the beginning that Hanssen is an extraordinary lie detector, having already looked at five “facts” about O’Neill and figuring out which one was a lie.

Also, Phillippe and Cooper are great in Breach. Their chemistry together makes the movie work well. The whole relationship between the two is about trust. Hanssen is constantly in conflict with O’Neill’s trust for him and tries to get O’Neill to prove it in a number of ways. The most interesting example of this is when Hanssen makes O’Neill swear to God that he can trust him, and the young man not only gains the man’s trust, but he is able to do it without swearing.

I went into the movie with very high expectations, but Breach exceeded them. I thought 2007 would be the year of terrible movies. Once the end credits began for Breach, the only thought that was running through my mind was that at least there is one movie worth accolades, and hopefully more to come. I would like to give kudos to Ray, Phillippe and Cooper for their flawless work in Breach.

dadamof1@lasalle.edu