Breach not a high octane spy thriller but...

[George Bellefontaine]

...I'm glad I rented it.

It stars Chris Cooper as real life FBI agent Robert Hanssen, who for close to 25 years, leaked secrets to the Russians. The bureau suspects he is a mole and enlists the aid of Eric O'Neill ( Ryan Phillippe ) a computer smart surveillance expert looking to be a full agent. O'Neill is appointed personal assistant to Hanssen ( who by now has been demoted to a mundane desk job ) and thus begins a covert operation to bring down the mole.

This is not a bang bang spy thriller, that's for sure. It is slow moving at times but I found myself immersed within the drama, thanks, no doubt, to a superb performance by Chris Cooper and a very subtle performance by Phillippe. This is a character study of two men, one good and one bad, and though it is a true story and you know how it ends, I still found myself hanging on to the arms of my chair right to the conclusion. And I should also mention Laura Linney, who plays Phillippe's contact. Her part is small but she comes across as real as life.

If you like character-driven films, you will definitely like this. And in my humble opinion, Cooper's performance is the stuff Oscars are made of.

:4:

[Ovation]

Chris Cooper is one of my favourite actors and he is highly underrated, in my opinion. I saw this at the video store last night but the only reason I didn't pick it up was because it was only a 1 day rental. With two kids and a somewhat hectic schedule, I only rent new releases once they're available for 7 day rentals (usually 2-5 weeks, depending on the film, after the release date). It's on my short list. Glad to hear it was good (and I happen to love character-driven movies--even in genres where "action" is the primary attraction, good character development will often make or break a movie for me).

[George Bellefontaine]

I'd bet donuts to dollars that you're gonna love this one, Ovation. :T

[LikeCoiledSteel]

Saw it last night, not bad, not great. Cooper is great as usual with a nice showing by RP. I think that Cooper's best performance to date was in Adaptation, just incredible. I have to compare all his other work to that and it comes up short.
Steel

[Pookie007]

We rented and watched it this weekend. I thought it was pretty good. I never expected it to be a fast action James Bond type movie. My guide for the quality of a DVD is how may times I check the time on the disc. I never did with this one, so it gets my seal of approval.

[Ovation]

That used to be my guide as well, until the children arrived. Now, it's a gauge--how late do I have to stay up? I still use the time check as a quality measure on occasion, but practical considerations do enter into it at times.

[Ovation]

Just watched this earlier tonight--very well done, IMO. Cooper is excellent. Will probably go into my collection (I teach a course on The History of the 20th Century and the Cold War figures prominently in the course--my research interest is in historical feature films, so the two things will dovetail nicely).

[John Holmes]

I watched the HD-DVD version.

I thought the PQ was very good. Even with the directors muted intention added. The DD+ SQ was very clean. Clear dialog, and punchy when called for (though there weren't many times it needed to be punchy).

Overall, I really enjoyed this film. I thought the actors brought the emotion of this sensitive issue to the screen. And as George stated, even knowing the outcome, I was still glued to my seat till the end.

Funny thing for me though, I was a liitle miffed about the time used in the begining to build character. But, after the film got moving, I couldn't see any other way to appreciate the players positions involved.

I have no problem giving this film a big thumbs up! :T