Movie Review: Breach

Breach (2007) 

Directed by Billy Ray

Written by Adam Mazer 

Starring Chris Cooper, Ryan Phillippe, Laura Linney, Dennis Haysbert, Caroline Dhavernas, Gary Cole

Release Date February 16th, 2007 

Published February 17th, 2007

Robert Hanssen was America's leading expert in Russian counter-intelligence. When communism fell it was because of guys like Hanssen whose fluency in how the Russians conducted intelligence and counterintelligence helped topple Moscow. So how does a man so proud and outwardly patriotic become the greatest traitor since Benedict Arnold? That is one of two stories that unfold in the new movie Breach from director Billy Ray the young auteur behind Shattered Glass.

When agent Eric O'Neill (Ryan Phillippe) was assigned to be the assistant to veteran agent Robert Hanssen (Chris Cooper) he was told that this could be his opportunity to earn his way into becoming a full fledged agent. It was not because Hanssen was a 30 plus year veteran whose experience would be a great learning experience for O'Neill. Rather, this was a test of the young agents spy mettle.

Eric was chosen to watch over Hanssen whom he is told is a sexual deviant and thus susceptible to blackmail by foreign agents. Choosing a more veteran agent to watch Hanssen would arouse suspicion, so it's up to the. Little did Eric know, there was far more to this new detail than just sexual deviancy. He has actually been dropped right into the middle of the biggest internal FBI scandal in history.

Breach directed by Bill Ray, the man behind the Stephen Glass expose Shattered Glass, is a brisk exciting drama that tells the story of Robert Hanssen with an icy, quicksilver pacing that never rushes but never pauses too long either. The spycraft is formal and by the book, made exciting by the hard work of the actors and the terrific staging.

Chris Cooper shows once again why he is the preeminent character actor in the business. His Robert Hanssen is a constipated family man who is constantly fed up with just about everything. Everyone around him is regarded as a fool and he does not suffer fools kindly. The explanation for his treachery may just be an overall frustration with the people around him. He wants the system to conform to his idea of efficiency and when it doesn't he decides to goose the system by subverting it.

Ryan Phillippe continues to choose smart roles. His career track started as that of a teen idol after 1999's Cruel Intentions. Thankfully, brooding, handsome type was not the career he wanted and while his choices, from the cool underappreciated Way of the Gun to Antitrust to Crash, have been spotty, he has been good even in his most off-kilter role.

In Breach Phillippe plays a naive worker bee very well and his character grows up quickly. Initially all confusion and ambition his Eric O'Neill toughens up quickly and is able to use his naivete as a perfect wedge against the always suspicious Hanssen.

Breach is a breathtaking, fast paced story, exceptionally well told by director Billy Ray. There is not an ounce of fat on this story, every detail, from Hanssen's religious convictions to O'Neill's relationship with his wife played by the wonderful Catherine Davernas, it all pays off in a way. The crisp, efficient storytelling is aided by exceptional performances by Phillippe and Cooper and an extraordinary group of supporting players.

Laura Linney, Gary Cole and Dennis Haysbert bring expert skill to the roles of Hanssen's investigators. Linney is especially good as the strong willed lead investigator Kate Burroughs who made the tough call to put the kid O'Neill in with the veteran Hanssen. Icy and workmanlike, Burroughs hard nosed investigation was going on for two years before she brought in O'Neill as a last ditch effort to catch Hanssen in the act.

The person in charge of capturing the suspected mole before Hanssen was identified? Hanssen himself, something Burroughs is very aware of.

Taut, invigorating storytelling, Breach is the kind of thriller that excites with dazzling intellectual storytelling. Director Billy Ray may not be much of a visual stylist but he more than makes up for it with his ear for smart dialogue and his instinct for telling his story in a compact, quick witted way. The pace of the storytelling never outdoing the development of the characters, Breach unfolds the greatest failure in American intelligence history in the most entertaining way imaginable.

Movie Review: Edge of Madness

Edge of Madness (2002) 

Directed by Anne Wheeler

Written by Charles K. Pitts, Anne Wheeler

Starring Brendan Fehr, Caroline Dhavernas, Corey Sevier, Paul Johansson

Release Date January 1st, 2002 

Published May 27th, 2003

Have you ever seen a film that you would describe as remarkably average? It's an odd experience watching a movie that is so inoffensive yet so dull that you have literally no opinion of the film whatsoever. For someone like myself who writes about movies, it is a far stranger experience. How can I write about a movie that I have no opinion of? It's not a good movie but it's not a bad movie either. This is the quandary I find myself after viewing the mystery Edge Of Madness, a remarkably average thriller starring Brendan Fehr.

Set in 1850 in Manitoba Canada, Edge Of Madness is the story of a strange woman named Annie (French TV star Caroline Dhavernas) who arrives at county jail claiming that she has murdered her husband. The county constable, Henry Mullan (Paul Johannsen), is skeptical of her story, as she seems to have lost her mind. Nevertheless he takes her confession and places her in jail for the night. The next day when Annie becomes conscious and realizes where she is, the constable is surprised to hear her stick to her story about having bludgeoned her husband with a large rock.

In flashback, Annie explains how she met her husband, Simon Herron (Brendan Fehr) when he came to her orphanage and selected her to be his wife. Annie is excited to get out of the orphanage but she quickly realizes that her new husband is no savior. Rather, he is a brutal abusive man who doesn't want a wife but rather a sexual servant who can cook. On the bright side, Simon's brother George (Corey Sevier), a kind, sensitive soul befriends Annie and the attraction is so obvious that even dunderheaded Simon picks up on it. This causes Simon to fly into a jealous rage and abuse not only Annie but also his brother.

All of this leads up to Simon's death, and the film’s mystery surrounds who killed Simon. Annie or George? Did Annie claim she did it to protect George or was it as George claimed, an accident? To be honest, by the time the film began to unravel it's mystery I was already drifting off. It's not a bad movie but for short segments it grows a little dull. There were moments when I would look at the time, wonder what was on cable, and think of how much laundry I had to the next day. At one point I even took a short call on my cell and didn't bother to pause the movie. That may seem unprofessional but hey, if the film were more engaging I would have at least paused it.

Edge Of Madness is a well-made, well-acted period piece with interesting actors and interesting performances. Alas, it's easily forgettable at the same time. I admired the professional look of the film. It's well polished for a direct-to-video movie but the story simply isn't compelling enough to hold your interest. It makes for a good movie to fall asleep to because you can nap, wake up 20 minutes later and you haven't really missed anything. It's the absolute definition of an average film.

On a side note I must take issue with the film’s title, a cynical attempt by its marketers to fool people into thinking it's a horror film. On IMDB it's listed under the title A Wilderness Station, a title that makes more sense in the context of the film (Ed. Note - Wilderness Station was the Canadian title), but not nearly as cool sounding as Edge Of Madness, which sounds like the title to an Ozzy Osbourne album.