Billy Ray does something very interesting in this film: He toys with the audience. He utilized similar techniques in his previous film, Shattered Glass, which I thought was also quite excellent and even somewhat underrated. The former film, too, was a character study much in the same way and along the same lines that Breach is. Ray places his "villainous", deceitful character at the center of the film, and portrays him in a way so undeniably human and rounded, when we the audience hear about his wrong and fraudulent deeds, we can't even believe it at first. It happens in Shattered Glass with Hayden Christensen's Stephen Glass character (his only truly fine acting job, if I may say so myself), and indeed, Ray's portrayal of the character of Robert Hanssen manipulates us in just such a way. In utter identification with Eric O'Neill, when we are first told about Hanssen's dealings with pornography and even more so his selling secrets to Russia, we simply can't believe it. Ray seems so fascinated and fixated with Hanssen and has developed and portrayed him in such an incredibly three-dimensional, rounded and well-developed way, he almost neglects his other characters, who get far less development than Hanssen does. Again, the same thing happened in Shattered Glass, but this minor flaw doesn't take away from the big picture at all. It just means the actors have a little less to work with.
As an actor's movie, this is one of those vehicles that really lets them loose. Chris Cooper, as the centerpiece of the film, delivers a subdued, vicious and absolutely incredible performance as Robert Hanssen, another very fine role in his already fruitful career. If this film is not forgotten by late this year, one can certainly hope for an Oscar nomination for Cooper. The other "higher-caliber" actor who does well in the film is Laura Linney, who is very high up on the "why hasn't she won an Oscar yet?" list. As I already mentioned, her character isn't developed quite enough to give her absolute liberty in the performance, but she does get a few tender and vulnerable moments to truly shine. Ryan Phillippe, on the other hand, is an actor I have a few problems with. He has had some great, meaty roles in fantastic movies this one being one of his meatiest but he never quite manages to get a major bite in. He is an okay actor that never exceeds that categorization and moves into the range of excellence. But I am confident, as he is still young, and with roles in films such as this one, Flags of our Fathers, Igby Goes Down and others, he is slowly building himself a repertoire of high-quality films that slowly but surely improve his skills by posing higher and more difficult obstacles for him to work around. His work in Breach may just be his best yet, but it still doesn't excel into greatness.
On a superficial level, everything about this film is solid. The direction, the design, the cinematography lighting and overall look of the film, the pace, the story everything is rock solid and well crafted. The true story aspect of the film did not necessarily have to stop it from becoming just another average espionage thriller and I had feared this as near the end it almost entered such territory but abruptly veered away but Ray does an excellent job at keeping the film focused on the fascinating story and on the characters, and not on the "action". The story itself is a fascinating, fascinating tale that, if treated well, was perfect for making a movie about, and Ray treats it expertly well. That said, the movie never quite reaches absolute greatness due to its naturally subdued nature. Ray is a good director, but he will never reach the heights of Wes Anderson, Michel Gondry or Craig Brewer simply because he keeps it simple and makes great-but-"regular" movies. Not that it's a bad thing: It's quite reassuring to know that one director is consistent at directing solid and interesting real-world drama/thrillers with fascinating stories, high production value and fascinating characters.
Finally, I must also comment on the musical score, which immediately caught my attention and which, at first, I thought was something out of Philip Glass' notebooks until a little patience during the credits revealed that it was one Mychael Danna, who had actually composed some absolutely fantastic film scores over the years in even more fantastic movies: Little Miss Sunshine, Capote, The Sweet Hereafter, The Ice Storm the list goes on. I don't necessarily remember every aspect of his work on those films (except for Little Miss Sunshine, which was also more recent and also features an immediately memorable and brilliant score), but I can safely say that his work on Breach is nothing short of brilliant, and just fantastic music on its own, besides the fact that it obviously and exquisitely enhances the tone and pace of the film.
Billy Ray is a good director, but never exceeds into greatness. Ryan Phillippe is a good actor, but never exceeds into greatness. Indeed, just about everything in this film is good even great but never exceeds into excellency, except for perhaps Chris Cooper's absolutely fascinating and powerhouse performance as Hanssen. Ray's character development is also exceptional; one can deduct from both this film and Shattered Glass that Ray seems to have an interest in deceitful, untrustworthy characters. The story is strong, intelligent and engaging, the film-making solid all around, and in all this is just a good example of fine but restrained film-making.
As an actor's movie, this is one of those vehicles that really lets them loose. Chris Cooper, as the centerpiece of the film, delivers a subdued, vicious and absolutely incredible performance as Robert Hanssen, another very fine role in his already fruitful career. If this film is not forgotten by late this year, one can certainly hope for an Oscar nomination for Cooper. The other "higher-caliber" actor who does well in the film is Laura Linney, who is very high up on the "why hasn't she won an Oscar yet?" list. As I already mentioned, her character isn't developed quite enough to give her absolute liberty in the performance, but she does get a few tender and vulnerable moments to truly shine. Ryan Phillippe, on the other hand, is an actor I have a few problems with. He has had some great, meaty roles in fantastic movies this one being one of his meatiest but he never quite manages to get a major bite in. He is an okay actor that never exceeds that categorization and moves into the range of excellence. But I am confident, as he is still young, and with roles in films such as this one, Flags of our Fathers, Igby Goes Down and others, he is slowly building himself a repertoire of high-quality films that slowly but surely improve his skills by posing higher and more difficult obstacles for him to work around. His work in Breach may just be his best yet, but it still doesn't excel into greatness.
On a superficial level, everything about this film is solid. The direction, the design, the cinematography lighting and overall look of the film, the pace, the story everything is rock solid and well crafted. The true story aspect of the film did not necessarily have to stop it from becoming just another average espionage thriller and I had feared this as near the end it almost entered such territory but abruptly veered away but Ray does an excellent job at keeping the film focused on the fascinating story and on the characters, and not on the "action". The story itself is a fascinating, fascinating tale that, if treated well, was perfect for making a movie about, and Ray treats it expertly well. That said, the movie never quite reaches absolute greatness due to its naturally subdued nature. Ray is a good director, but he will never reach the heights of Wes Anderson, Michel Gondry or Craig Brewer simply because he keeps it simple and makes great-but-"regular" movies. Not that it's a bad thing: It's quite reassuring to know that one director is consistent at directing solid and interesting real-world drama/thrillers with fascinating stories, high production value and fascinating characters.
Finally, I must also comment on the musical score, which immediately caught my attention and which, at first, I thought was something out of Philip Glass' notebooks until a little patience during the credits revealed that it was one Mychael Danna, who had actually composed some absolutely fantastic film scores over the years in even more fantastic movies: Little Miss Sunshine, Capote, The Sweet Hereafter, The Ice Storm the list goes on. I don't necessarily remember every aspect of his work on those films (except for Little Miss Sunshine, which was also more recent and also features an immediately memorable and brilliant score), but I can safely say that his work on Breach is nothing short of brilliant, and just fantastic music on its own, besides the fact that it obviously and exquisitely enhances the tone and pace of the film.
Billy Ray is a good director, but never exceeds into greatness. Ryan Phillippe is a good actor, but never exceeds into greatness. Indeed, just about everything in this film is good even great but never exceeds into excellency, except for perhaps Chris Cooper's absolutely fascinating and powerhouse performance as Hanssen. Ray's character development is also exceptional; one can deduct from both this film and Shattered Glass that Ray seems to have an interest in deceitful, untrustworthy characters. The story is strong, intelligent and engaging, the film-making solid all around, and in all this is just a good example of fine but restrained film-making.