On DVD: Breach

 

 

Directed By Billy Ray

Starring Chris Cooper, Laura Linney, Ryan Phillippe

 

This movie I think hit the theater at a bad time because I remember when it came out and I wanted to see it but didn't.  It seemed to come and go from theaters fairly quickly too.  It's possible that the lack of an A list actor that people are crazy for kept people from theaters.  The fact is that two of my favorite actors; Chris Cooper and Laura Linney are in this film but they don't typically put butts in seats.  At any rate I'm happy to finally get a chance to see this film.

 

The Movie

  

This film tells the story of one of the worst spies America has ever seen.  This man was responsible for countless deaths and sharing of more top secret information to the Russians than the average American will ever know.

 

Ryan Phillippe plays Eric O'Neil a stellar FBI employee hoping to become a full agent.  He's brought in to go under cover as a clerk working for FBI operative Robert Hanssen a man who has been suspected by his superiors for a while of being a double agent sharing top secret information with the Russians.  They do obtain proof but the means that they utilized to get the information makes it useless in court so they must catch him in the act of making a drop to the Russians.

 

O'Neil learns at first that Hanssen is a devout Catholic, is extremely smart, and a caring family man.  O'Neil even begins to respect the man who he has been told is being investigating for sexual deviancy.  O'Neil finally goes to his handler (Laura Linney) and demands to be "read in" to the complete details of the case.  She agrees and O'Neil learns that the sexual deviancy is in fact true but the real reason they put O'Neil in place is the fact that Hanssen is a double agent.  O'Neil has to keep all of this a secret, even from his wife and that causes stress in their relationship.  So, along with the overall story of trying to catch Hanssen there's a subplot about being an agent and working in total secret even from loved ones and the stress that causes.  We eventually learn what it does to O'Neil and the decisions he makes after Hanssen is caught.

 

The movie is very taught and the characters, at least O'Neil and Hanssen, are complex and engrossing.  The star of the film is obviously Chris Cooper as Hanssen.  In the bonus features we learn that the real Eric O'Neil was one of the writers of the original story and a consultant on the movie.  So if Cooper's Hanssen is even a modicum of what the real man was like he must have been fascinating to investigate and scary at the same time.

 

The film isn't action packed, probably because the creators tried to keep as close to what really happened but it does feature some fairly suspenseful scenes.  This movie is about unwrapping the layers of a spy, and for that the movie is fantastic.  The direction is solid and the acting all around is top notch.  I'm sure the film isn't 100% historically accurate but this is a good way to get a feel for what happened behind the scenes of the arrest of one of the worst spies in American history.

 

8.5/10

 

The Video

 

The widescreen presentation here looks great, as it should since the film is so recent.  There are a couple of different color pallets utilized in the film.  At O'Neil's home, and even at Hanssen's home colors are natural and warm while in the FBI building, especially in some of Linney's scenes the pallet gets really cold with some stark blues and greens.  I feel for Linney because she is a pretty lady but these color choices don't flatter her.  There is one scene between Phillippe and Linney in her character's home where she finally gets some nice natural coloring.  Detail is high and black levels are solid throughout. I didn't notice in major issues with compression and grain is very minimal.

 

9/10

 

The Audio

 

The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is subtle but solid with crisp dialogue and dynamic presentation for the score.  This is a dialogue heavy film so there's not a lot of opportunity for surround usage but the times the surrounds do kick in add to the immersion of the film and the suspense.  It's nicely done for the film even if it isn't the DVD you want to use for demo purposes.

 

8/10

 

Packaging and Bonus Features

 

The single disc release comes in a standard amaray case with artwork featuring the main cast but not doing much else.  It's standard Hollywood promo art, nothing unique about it.

 

First up for bonus features is a feature length audio commentary with director Billy Ray and the real O'Neil.  Most of this commentary is spent praising the cast and crew which gets annoying but if you suffer through that you'll get a few nice tidbits here and there, mostly from Ray on the technical execution of the film.  I would love to have heard more from O'Neil during this commentary about the real Hanssen and the comparison of Hanssen to Cooper's portrayal of him.  Ray does ask some questions of O'Neil during the commentary that forces him to speak on the case here and there.

 

Next up there's a series of extended and deleted scenes with optional commentary from the director and the editor.  Many of these scenes are quite good and would have played well in the film but were cut for pacing.  Mostly I think these cuts were good because the final film flows well and doesn't overstay its welcome.

 

Breaching the Truth is a standard "making of" featurette with behind the scenes footage and cast and crew interviews.  It's very standard but there's still some good information here and there.

 

Anatomy of a Character is a short featurette that focuses on Chris Cooper and his portrayal of Hanssen.  Even though it focuses on the one character it still feels like it could have been cut into the making of featurette rather than doing a separate short.

 

My favorite extra is a segment from an episode of Dateline NBC called "The Mole" that covers Robert Hanssen and his eventual arrest.  The nearly 20 minute long segment features interviews with people who worked with Hanssen and a narrative flow that follows Hanssen's life.

 

Watching all of these bonus features at once makes the overall experience worthwhile.  Individually a couple of the featurettes come off run of the mill but add in the commentary and "The Mole" and you have some solid behind the scenes information.

 

7/10

 

This fascinating true story is retold here with polish and attention to detail.  The historical accuracy of this film may be responsible for keeping it from being as action packed as say a Bourne movie but that same historical accuracy makes the film a must see.  Don't get me wrong I know this film is dramatized but at the same time the filmmakers didn't take the whole thing to an extreme which so often happens.  In other words there aren't any shoot-outs with guns having limitless ammo or explosions.  Fans of the spy thriller must see this film period.

  

Overall (Not an Average) 8/10

The Movie 8.5/10

The Video 9/10

The Audio 8/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features 8/10

Overall (Not an Average) 8/10

 

-Stephen Lackey