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Breach
R1 - America - Universal Pictures Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (2nd July 2007). |
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The Film
 In 2003 Billy Ray released his debut feature "Shattered Glass", a film about Stephen Glass, a journalist who fabricated a vast majority of his work. The film was a critical success, although sadly this didn't necessarily equate into box office success. Still Ray managed to impress with his solid writing and directing, "Breach" is no different in almost every aspect than "Shattered Glass", it includes great writing, great performances but sadly no respect at the box office during its theatrical run. Perhaps it will find a wider audience on DVD? In 2001 the FBI captured Robert Hanssen (played by Chris Cooper) and charged him with spying, Hanssen, a 25-year career FBI agent started selling state secrets to the Soviets in 1984 (this is what he told investigators). His arrest marked the end of what has become the biggest breach of National Security in United States history, the damage in financial terms is in the billions. Filmmaker Billy Ray continues his "based on a true story" trend intricately piecing together a film that covers Hanssen's final two months leading up to and including his arrest. During this two month period, Eric O'Neill (Ryan Phillippe), a young Bureau trainee wanting to make 'Agent' status is assigned to work for Hanssen in a new division set up for him to run, his job is to report everything he does back to FBI superior Kate Burroughs (Laura Linney) who is overseeing the investigation into Hanssen's treason. "Breach" is not like most espionage themes films in the sense that it does have car chases; it doesn't have explosions and intense cutting. It's a film based on real events and thus the material is treated in such a way to evoke realism. It feels like a document of the event that's occurred during that portion of Hanssen's life. The result is a dramatic piece that puts a lot of attention onto dialogue driven scenes that do, at times stretch. This film certainly asks for patience from its viewers but it ultimately pays off in the film's final 20 minutes. Just be warned that the meandering pace might put some people off. Much like the vastly underrated "Shattered Glass", Ray has managed to craft some brilliant performances from his cast, most notably Chris Cooper, who after his work in "American Beauty" (1999), "The Bourne Identity" (2002), "Adaptation" (2002), "Seabiscuit" (2003) and "Syriana" (2005) has managed to create an impressive body of work that displays his versatile acting sensibility. In "Breach" it almost feels like he's expanding on Col. Frank Fitts, the character he played in "American Beauty", but manages to steer away from it ever feeling like he's repeating the same performance. "Breach" is slow moving and requires the audience's full attention; it's certainly not for everyone. The payoff is already known, there are no hallmarks of big overblown Hollywood productions amid this one, it's simply relies on good old fashioned narrative storytelling and strong performances much like films from 70's American cinema where Ray draws a lot of his influences from.
Video
Presented in a widescreen ratio of 1.78:1 this anamorphic transfer is a solid effort from Universal. The image is sharp and well balanced in terms of its color palette which is on the monochromatic side and perfectly encapsulates the tone and feel of the film. Skin tones appear natural but at times lips are on the purple side, in fact I noticed a lot of purple colors that pop off the screen such as Hanssen's office chair as well (I'm unsure if this was deliberate). Blacks are deep and bold, some minor grain is spotted occasionally, but this is never a distraction. As far as I can tell there are no significant compression related issues with this otherwise clean transfer.
Audio
Two audio tracks are included, one in English Dolby Digital 5.1 and the other in French Dolby Digital 5.1. For the purposes of this review I chose to view the film with its English soundtrack. For a dialogue driven film this soundtrack certainly has a lot of depth, while the dialogue is clear a further dynamic is created with the film's subtle yet bass-filled score. Ambient sound is also added to further immerse the viewer in the surroundings. It's a great mix from Universal and provides a wonderful accompaniment to the strong image transfer. Optional subtitles are included in English for the hearing impaired, French and Spanish.
Extras
First up is a feature-length audio commentary with writer/director Billy Ray and former FBI operative Eric O'Neill. This track is fairly screen-specific, as the director comments on his influences of 70's cinema as well as taking us through the process in making this film and in getting story elements right while taking some form of creative license. O'Neill adds a level of validation to a lot of what is seen onscreen as he comments on how accurate the film is as well as pointing out certain things that actually happened differently. The level of detail stretched beyond the FBI including their home life, and O'Neill was constantly surprised about seeing actors play out a time in his life. Occasionally comments are made about the cast as well as locations, editing and score and overall it's a well constructed and generally informative track that worth a listen. Following that are eight deleted scenes, these can be viewed individually or with a 'play all' option. They also include optional audio commentary by writer/director Billy Ray and the film's editor Jeffrey Ford. They include: - "FBI Weight Room" which runs for 1 minute 13 seconds, Hanssen interrupts Rich Garces (Gary Cole) about data cards used to tighten computer security. - "Construction Of 9930" which runs for 55 seconds, Rich Graces oversees the intricate bugging of Hanssen's office. - "I'm Here To Help You" runs for 2 minutes 28 seconds, Eric is tested by Hanssen on how to answer the phone. - "Reporting To Kate" runs for 31 seconds, Eric briefs Kate on the daily goings on. - "It's Their Religion" runs for 1 minute 9 seconds, Eric and Juliana (Caroline Dhavernas) talk about how the Hanssen's take their religion very seriously. - "How Is Your Mother?" runs for 3 minutes 15 seconds, Hanssen uses the 'five things about yourself' game to work out what the deal is with Eric's mother. - "I'm S.E.S. Now" runs for 49 seconds, Hanssen tells a colleague about his being in charge of a division. - "The Arrest Plan" runs for 1 minute 25 seconds, the plan is circulated to everyone involved. Next up are two alternate scenes, which can be viewed individually or with a 'Play All' option. They also include optional audio commentary by writer/director Billy Ray and the film's editor Jeffrey Ford. They include: - "Video Tape Fight" which runs for 3 minutes 20 seconds, this is an alternate version of the scene where Juliana sees the explicit tape that Hanssen made of him and his wife having sex. - "Meeting With Kate" runs for 2 minutes 20 seconds, this is an alternate version of the scene where he tells Kate that he has quit the FBI. "Breaching The Truth" is a featurette that runs for 10 minutes 52 seconds, this takes a look at how the filmmakers came across the material, setting up the production and casting the roles as well as taking cinematic license without making things up and trying to remain as accurate as possible. The clip takes into the work the former operative Eric O'Neill did on consulting on the film and working with the actors as it was a challenge to portray real people, among other things. "Anatomy Of A Character" is the second featurette and runs for 6 minutes 49 seconds, this clip takes a closer look at the how the director sought to cast the role of Robert Hanssen, as well as how Chris Cooper prepared for the role and on working with O'Neill on getting the character right. Also on the disc is "The Mole" this TV special originally aired on the new magazine program "Dateline" on March 5, 2001 and runs for 19 minutes 20 seconds, this is a full news segment that covers the Hanssen story as it broke originally and takes a look at the extent of his spying and the reaction from friends and colleagues. Rounding out the extras are some bonus trailers, these are start-up previews and can be skipped, they include: - "Because I Said So" which runs for 33 seconds. - "Dead Silence" which runs for 30 seconds. - "HD DVD" spot which runs for 1 minute 3 seconds. - "Talk to Me" which runs for 2 minutes 30 seconds. - "Hot Fuzz" which runs for 35 seconds.
Overall
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