Product ReviewsBreach (DVD, 2007)

Hanssen Caught in 2001 a True Story and a Must See

This film by Billy Ray (Shattered Glass) tells this remarkable story of how Hanssen was eventually exposed and how the F.B.I. worked over the final two months of his employment at the agency to try and infiltrate his circle and make a case using all their available resources at the highest level of the bureau.

On February 20, 2001, FBI agent Robert Hanssen was arrested by an agency task force and charged with selling the highest and most classified of the government's secrets to the Soviet Union. His case would later identify him as the biggest spy in American history who's sharing of sensitive documents and information lead to the death of at least three operatives while exposing some of the nation's highest confidential secrets and operations.

Chris Cooper (Adaptation) plays Hanssen. He is a church going family man that at first hardly mirrors the monster that the agency is determined to expose. Ryan Phillippe (Crash) plays Eric O'Neill, an agent wannabe that is assigned to work as Henssen's clerk in an attempt to follow, document & spy on his move in an attempt to help the F.B.I. build their case. Their relationship for two months will lead to the downfall of Hanssen's operations and would leave a black mark on the government agencies in a year that presented its own problems by 9/11.

The film is less concerned with big action scenes than with examining the relationship between these 2 very different men set in unwitting opposition to one another. Hanssen himself was a mass of immense hypocrisies & contradictions. As a devout Catholic, he attends Mass religiously, recites the rosary everyday, and looks with disdain upon homosexuals, women who wear pants & anybody seemingly to the left politically of extreme conservatism. Yet, despite his outward display of moral rectitude, Hanssen secretly distributes porn videos of his wife (she is unaware of their existence) and betrays his country by turning over classified information to the enemy. O'Neill finds himself simultaneously drawn to & repulsed by the man, who manages to be both prig and libertine at one and the same time. O'Neill knows that what Hanssen is doing is terribly wrong, yet he can't help falling under the spell of a man he knows that, under other circumstances, might well come to value as a friend & a mentor.

In July of the same year, Hanssen was tried and convicted for 15 counts of espionage. Followers of the Robert Hanssen case believe that Hanssen's primary motive was to show his own importance (as a information security planner) by revealing holes in the system that he would have plugged. I wish this film would have worked with that a bit, because this notion of helping the system by hurting is system is both what the story could have been about and the means used to tell the story.

A news documentary which ran on Dateline on 3/5/2001 outlined the way Robert Hanssen communicated his information to re-establish new protocol to pass information over 6000 pages of documents/data that was worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Great roles were delivered as well by Laura Linney, Gary Cole, Dennis Haysbert, Kathleen Quinlan, & Tom Barnett to name a few.

Interesting trivia: In the opening, code quickly flashes & is reduced to the movie title. The scrolling code is a Linux procedure that mounts (connects to) networked data sources such as Unix, Windows and Novell file systems. The real Hanssen commonly used a quote about purple pissin' japanese which led to his capture.Read full review...

Suspenseful.... Even Tho You Know How It Turns Out

... as it was highly publicized when it became known. The biggest betrayal in the USA intelligence community back in 2001.

Chris Cooper gives a great performance as the FBI section chief Hanssen. Ryan Phillippe also gives a great performance as the young FBI agent assigned to watch Hanssen.

Laura Linney is ok as the wife of the young FBI agent, and Dennis Haysbert doesn't get enough screen time.

There isn't much action in this film, but the one on one, day in and day out interaction between Cooper and Phillippe is riveting. Very suspensful, and a good film to watch.

Probably a rental film, as I am not for sure what genre of Film Library this would fit in.Read full review...

Breach is Amazing!

I have never seen Chris Cooper on the screen as a villain. But he certainly is in this movie--one based on a true case in Washington D. C. He plays Robert Hanssen, a CIA agent, who is about ready to retire but has a big secret. He is responsible for the most damaging security leaks to Russia that have ever been generated.

A computer genius, Robert is also a devout Catholic--actually too devout. It must have been a sham, but the man played the part too well. Attending Mass daily, a cross on his office wall--all his outward appearances seem to be that of a good man. But he is rigid and mean too. He snaps at everyone and locks his office door from his secretary and assistant(Ryan Phillipe), who has been placed there to watch him after a rumor surfaces that he might be a pedophile. Someone must have found out that Robert goes to strip joints and makes videos of he and his wife having sex and forwards them to others (not a good Catholic habit).

How this man actually committed espionage in the past is not exposed in the movie. But what is told is his current drop of secrets, which the CIA is now on to because of Ryan Phillipe's character. The final result is his capture, trying in court, and sentencing to a maximum security prison in Denver.

It's actually hard to visualize Chris Cooper as this man. I can only see him as the good sheriff in "Lonesome Dove", the brother of Robert Redford in "The Horse Whisperer," and the snaggle-toothed Oscar winner for "Adaptation."

Good acting awards also go to Ryan Phillipe("Crash"), as the young agent who finally figures out what this man is doing. Also Laura Linney ("Kinsey") plays Ryan's boss in the CIA who planted him there. And finally Kathleen Quinlan plays Hanssen's unsuspecting wife.

An additional plus to the DVD is the NBC Nightline show that told the story of Robert Hanssen. It is strikingly similar to the movie.Read full review...

The fox was finally trapped

The old man performed well his role partly because he has a special, rare, sly face that fits in his character.

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: michelldaigle

BREACH -- ROBERT HANSEEN'S UNSCRUPULOUS LEGACY

This was a good movie and well worth watching!

BREACH is a story of a man with a sharp intellect but who had a very, very flawed character.

The movie portrayed Robert Hanseen as a man of strong religous conviction. His demeanor was rightous all through the film but as the movie progressed it became obvious that his "rightousness" was really all about self-rightousness.

Also, the movie told the story of a man who felt slighted by his employer, the FBI. He seemed to feel that his intellect was not recognized in a manner consistent with how he saw himself. He was smug, self-important, and contemptuous toward the people he worked with. Hanseen's treasonous actions smacked of "I am a clever, clever man and therefore important."

Dennis Haysbert (Plesac) should have had more of a role in the movie but toward the end of the film ... when Hanseen is in custody ... Haysbert's character is the one who puts Robert Hanseen's treason and mindset into context. Pay attention to the ride in the SUV and conversation between Plesac and Hanseen. Plesac's last line (paraphrase) ... "Yeah, you're right. It doesn't matter."

The cast is excellent. Chris Cooper (Hanseen) and Ryan Phillippe (O'Neill) character performances play well against one another. Laura Linney (Burroughs) delivers a very strong performance!

Be sure to watch the bonus features on the DVD for background information on the movie and the man, Robert Hanseen.

Be sure to add BREACH to your DVD collection!Read full review...

Rivetting entertainment.

It's an amazingly well-done movie. Even though it begins with the ending and then works like a flash-back from there, you are still gripped with tension and suspense.

The actors are well suited for their roles, do excellent work, and carry the story as if they lived it. It is well written, well directed, and super well edited. The character development and pacing couldn't be more effective.

Since it is based on a real story, and stays true to historical sequence, well-known facts, and the psychology of the main character, you wonder how it can still shock and engage the viewer, but it does. It is almost like being there and learning a lot about what drives people to do good and to do evil. This well-paced and fascinating film gives us an example of both: an agent who puts his duty to his country and his beliefs before himself and a spy who is so inadequate and so hypocritical that he betrays everything and everyone he pretends to love for his own ego and need for power and glory.Read full review...

Very well done

Breach

The acting is superb, the performances are amazing, and the story pulls you in. I highly enjoyed this film and would enjoy watching it again.

It's not action packed but features a ton of intense moments. It's definitely worth a watch and possibly even a purchase.

That being said I would recommend renting it first just to see how you enjoy it.

Final Verdict:

4/5

Worth Buying?: I think so, but maybe rent first.Read full review...

Must-see

How storytellers make movies about news headlines we know the endings to is beyond me. This one works. It's suspenseful and of course Chris Cooper kills it. Great extras on the dvd too, more backstory on the "worst spy in US history". Not to be missed. An interesting view into the twisted cold war games of the era.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: murphyalex11

Breach--DVD

I bought this movie recently and have enjoyed its acting--Chris Cooper is great as the spy, Based on a recent spy case, this film does much more than recount the story of Robert Hanson and opens up the psychology of a man with very little loyalty to country or to its people or its people. But he was loyal to money. The other actors are equally terrific--Laura Linney (one of my favorites), Ryan Phillipe as the novice who wants to be a spy, Dennis Haysbert, Gary Cole, and Kathleen Quinlan. And they all deliver. The script by Adam Mazer and William Rotko and director Billy Ray is excellent. The bonus features of deleted and alternate scenes expand the viewer's appreciation of this film. Heartily recommended.Read full review...

Interesting histrionic

Friend of mine tipped me off to this story I barely had remembered it ,but looking at this Motion Picture brought back memories of the time in our country when the Russians were still our enemy not the people , their governmentRead full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: new | Sold by: lettsshopmovies