Breach

Directed by Billy Ray

Story and Screenplay by Adam Mazer & William Rotko
Written by Adam Mazer, William Rotko & Billy Ray

Starring Chris Cooper, Ryan Phillippe, Laura Linney, Caroline Dhavemus, Kathleen Quinlan, Gary Cole, Bruce Davison, Dennis Haysbert

These days, it’s hard to find a Hollywood film that doesn’t underestimate the intelligence of its audience. BREACH assumes its audience is intelligent and manages to be top notch entertainment at the same time.

BREACH is based on the true story of how Robert Hansen, an American spy who did the most damage to the U.S. intelligence and defense in history, was finally brought down. BREACH manages to make it a complex character drama that moves with the suspense of a thriller. It doesn’t yield to the temptation to add car chases and shoot outs. It doesn’t ask for big special effects. It fascinates by showing the inside of the mind of a man who is both brilliant and crazy.

Chris Cooper, who is always at the top of his game no matter how good or bad the script, gives one of his finest performances as Robert Hansen. Cooper’s face and persona resound with the strength and passion of our finest American icons. As Hansen, we see a man who wants to be a person who can keep company with the likes of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and other great historical figures. Part of him really has the goods to do so.

However, he also is deeply flawed. While he attends mass everyday and tries to convert the “worthy” to his Catholicism, which includes his newly appointed assistant Eric O’Neill (Ryan Phillippe), he also has passed on information to the U.S.S.R. that has compromised over 50 people and led to the killing of at least 3. While he embraces his wife and family with great love and devotion, he is not above using them to feed his need to exploit his wife sexually. A brilliant man, he has outsmarted everyone in U.S. intelligence and U.S.S.R. intelligence for over 20 years. This is as a result of his chafing on being passed over for recognition of his great abilities because, as he believes, the C.I.A. has a “gun mentality” and you don’t get promoted if you’re not part of that aspect of the agency.

Cooper brings so many levels to the role that his performance is mesmerizing. As with his new young assistant, he earns your respect with his intelligence, his discipline, his passion and his intuition. Similarly, as the cracks begin to appear and we see who he really is, we feel a great sense of loss of a good man who has lost his way.

Ryan Phillippe has begun to stake a claim as an actor to watch. His past three films, CRASH, FLAGS OF OUR FATHER and BREACH, are all films of quality. Up against powerhouse actors, such as Cooper, he holds his own. Phillippe has decency and an honesty in this film as well as an intelligence that lets you believe he can contend with Cooper’s maniacal genius. You believe that Cooper would trust him and you believe that his quick thinking allows him to maintain that trust when it is strained. You also feel the strain his situation is taking on himself, his wife and his marriage. It is not a flashy performance. But it is a performance that anchors the whole film and makes it work.

Laura Linney continues her streak of excellent work. Her character could have been a one note stereotype of an “ice woman” who has shut herself down to succeed in her work. However, she brings incredible subtext to her character and her scenes. You see a woman who is constantly evaluating herself and her life. She breathes life and dimension into her part with great nuance.

Caroline Dhavemus gives similar dimension to her role as Phillippe’s wife. There also is great support from Kathleen Quinlan, Gary Cole and Bruce Davison in smaller roles that they fill out with great detail.

As a follow-up to his excellent directorial debut with SHATTERED GLASS, BREACH is establishing Billy Ray as a director-writer to watch. Both films are excellent tales that balance character and plot honestly and interestingly. He also seems obsessed with exploring ethics and honesty, themes we need to think about in this very ethically challenged world. Cinematographer Tak Fujimoto uses the camera subtly and powerfully to aid in the journey into the hearts and minds of these troubled people.

BREACH is well worth your time and ticket money. I highly recommend it.