Breach (2007)

Director: Billy Ray

Cast: Chris Cooper as Robert Hanssen, Ryan Phillippe as Eric O'Neill, Laura Linney as Kate Burroughs, Caroline Dhavernas as Juliana O'Neill, Gary Cole as Rich Garces, Dennis Haysbert as Dean Plesac, Kathleen Quinlan as Bonnie Hanssen, Bruce Davison as John O'Neill, Jonathan Watton as Geddes, Tom Barnett as Jim Olsen, Jonathan Potts as D.I.A. Suit, David Huband as Photographer, Catherine Burdon as Agent Nece, Scott Gibson as Agent Sherin, Courtenay J. Stevens as Agent Loper (as Courtenay Stevens)

Greetings again from the darkness. Writer/Director Billy Ray was the
creative force behind "Shattered Glass" a few years ago and obviously
is drawn to true stories of human deception. Here he takes on one of
our biggest fears ... a federal agent who sells out his own country.
Normally we only get these type of scenarios in LeCarre novels, but the
story of FBI agent Robert Hanssen is a real life nightmare.

Perfect casting has Chris Cooper as the very odd Hanssen who has nearly
25 years with the bureau, many of which have been spent selling off
national secrets to the Soviet Union. In an almost unbelievable stroke
of luck, Hanssen was put in charge of finding the mole ... yes, his job
was to find himself!! Cooper is very strong here as the ego-maniacal
tortured soul who pulls off his deceit with a disarming devotion to
religion, the bureau and blending. He appears to be just another
working stiff pulling in a paycheck.

Most of the supporting staff is solid. Laura Linney is slightly miscast
as the agent in charge of bringing Hanssen down. Dennis Haysbert is her
boss. Gary Cole plays it straight here, and Kathleen Quinlan (as
Hanssen's wife) and Bruce Davison (as Eric O'Neill's dad) have brief
but effective turns. Caroline Dhavernas is an actress I am not familiar
with, but her performance here has me intrigued.

The weak link in the film is Ryan Phillipe, who just doesn't possess
the acting chops to pull off the pivotal role of Eric O'Neill - the
agent wannabe who gets thrust into the crucial position of bringing
Hanssen down. It is just implausible to believe Phillipe could ever
pass the FBI entrance exam, much less outsmart the guy who outsmarted
the entire bureau for two decades. Despite the weakness, the story is
strong enough to overcome this and maintain the quasi-thriller feel.
This is quite an accomplishment for a film when all the viewers know
how it will end!! The real life Hanssen is spending life in prison and
O'Neill immediately resigned from the bureau for the "normal" life of a
Washington attorney. Part spy thriller, part history lesson, part
psychoanalysis, "Breach" is very enjoyable despite the fact that we are
provided no real answers as to WHY this man acted as he did. We are
only led to believe that it wasn't the money, but instead the ego that
drove his madness.