{"id":1550,"date":"2008-04-03T14:16:47","date_gmt":"2008-04-03T13:16:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/archives\/2008\/04\/03\/dvd-pick-breach\/"},"modified":"2008-04-04T01:56:15","modified_gmt":"2008-04-04T00:56:15","slug":"dvd-pick-breach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/2008\/04\/03\/dvd-pick-breach\/","title":{"rendered":"DVD Pick: Breach"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Breach<\/a>Breach<\/strong><\/a> sadly didn’t find the audiences it deserved at the cinema but is a well crafted and compelling spy drama.<\/p>\n

It is based on the real life story of Eric O’Neill<\/a>, a young FBI<\/a> agent working under Robert Hanssen<\/a>, who was an agent convicted of spying for the Russians<\/a> in 2001.<\/p>\n

Starring Ryan Phillippe<\/a> as O’Neill, Chris Cooper<\/a> as Hanssen and co-starring Laura Linney<\/a>, Dennis Haysbert<\/a>, Caroline Dhavernas<\/a> and Kathleen Quinlan<\/a> it was written and directed by Billy Ray<\/a>, who also made the similarly under-rated Shattered Glass<\/a> in 2003.<\/p>\n

The highlight here is the terrific central performance from Chris Cooper, who gives a haunting turn as the enigmatic traitor. He skilfully teases out the contradictions at the heart of Hanssen’s life: why would a religious patriot who railed against the godless Soviet Union then sell secrets to them?<\/p>\n

In certain respects, this is the polar opposite of the Bourne and Bond spy movies. Instead of gunfights and chases, it focuses of the sobre reality of law enforcement –\u00a0 a world where beaureacratic infighting slowly grinds agents down. A pre-9\/11 environment where a clever man like Hanssen could deceive his unwitting colleagues.<\/p>\n

The story itself is quite incredible – the film opens with real footage of then Attorney General John Ashcroft<\/a> describing a “serious breach in the security of the United States<\/a>“. It was was one of the most embarrassing episodes in the history of US intelligence and Hanssen only escaped execution by co-operating with the FBI. He is currently serving a life sentence in solitary confinement<\/a> for 23 hours a day at the Supermax<\/a> Federal Penitentiary in Colorado<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The extras aren’t extensive but have some good insights into the events surrounding the film. They include:<\/p>\n