CINEMA: Breach

The murky world of intelligence and counter-intelligence is by its very nature a place of cloaks and daggers, smoke and mirrors, and in this complex and absorbing movie it just gets darker and dirtier. Based on the true story of FBI double agent Robert Hanssen, who sold American secrets to the Soviets, it is the tale of a man whose strange, warped religious conviction led him to betray his country because he believed it was going to the dogs – or more pertinently, to the devil.When his bosses begin to suspect that Hanssen (Chris Cooper) may be leaking secrets to the former Soviet Union, they handpick rookie agent Eric O’Neill (Ryan Phillippe) to cover him. O’Neill is chosen because he’s a lapsed Catholic and as Hanssen is a devout member of the church it is up to O’Neill to gain his trust and infiltrate his life. What he discovers is shocking, even to him. Why would a man who seems to be a bastion of American society endeavour to help to bring it down? But as O’Neill gets closer to Hanssen he finds a man whose unquestioning belief in the teachings of his faith (he’s against gays, lesbians and planned parenthood) blind him to his own acts of treachery.

This is a slow burning, deliberately paced movie that pays meticulous attention to detail. There are compelling performances, especially from the charismatic Cooper who makes Hanssen a totally believable character. There’s also great support, not only from Phillippe, but also from Gary Cole as an FBI minder, Kathleen Quinlan as Hanssen’s dutiful wife and Caroline Dhavernas as O’Neill’s new bride who does not take kindly to his newfound religious zeal.