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IMDb > Breach (2007)
Breach
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Breach (2007) -- Based on the true story, FBI upstart Eric O'Neill enters into a power game with his boss, Robert Hanssen, an agent who was ultimately convicted of selling secrets to the Soviet Union.
Breach (2007) -- Clip: O'Neill confronts Hanssen in the woods
Breach (2007) -- Behind The Scenes: Cooper in bullet proof vest
Breach (2007) -- Interview:  Laura Linney On working with real FBI agents
Breach (2007) -- Based on the true story, FBI upstart Eric O'Neill enters into a power game with his boss, Robert Hanssen, an agent who was ultimately convicted of selling secrets to the Soviet Union.

Overview

User Rating:
7.2/10   26,045 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 3% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Adam Mazer (screenplay) &
William Rotko (screenplay) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Breach on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
16 February 2007 (USA) more
Tagline:
Inspired by the true story of the greatest security breach in U.S. history more
Plot:
Based on the true story, FBI upstart Eric O'Neill enters into a power game with his boss, Robert Hanssen, an agent who was ultimately convicted of selling secrets to the Soviet Union. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
1 nomination more
NewsDesk:
(65 articles)
Story of Gears of War Movie Not Following Games?
 (From Screen Rant. 8 December 2009, 9:22 PM, PST)

The Story For Gears of War Movie
 (From GameRant. 8 December 2009, 8:59 PM, PST)

User Comments:
Two Men in a Boat more (182 total)
US TV Schedule:

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Hanssen (USA) (working title)
The 11th Hour (USA) (working title)
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MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for violence, sexual content and language.
Runtime:
110 min
Country:
Language:
Colour:
Colour (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Filming Locations:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The film's translation in Russia is "Treason" more
Goofs:
Continuity: Early in movie a sign appears: "Foxstone Park". Later on when the "drop" is made, Robert goes to the sign. On the left post there is now a horizontal piece of metal which he moves to the vertical position, presumably indicating said drop. more
Quotes:
Eric O'Neill: My name is Eric.
Robert Hanssen: No, your name is Clerk. And my name is Sir, or Boss, if you can manage.
Eric O'Neill: Yes, sir.
Robert Hanssen: And if I ever catch you in my office again, you're gonna be pissin' purple for a week.
more
Movie Connections:
Soundtrack:
Near You more

FAQ

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63 out of 90 people found the following comment useful.
Two Men in a Boat, 24 February 2007
Author: tedg (tedg@FilmsFolded.com) from Virginia Beach

I was surprised at how effective this was. You know from the very beginning how it will end. You know because it is a true story that there will be no trendy plot twists. You expect, and find, that the young assistant is built around a cliché, as is Hanssen's Catholicism, which oddly ignores the role of Opus Dei in this venture, and focuses on prayer instead of devotion.

And there is a formulaic bit about damaging fathers and odd wives. More: there's the project command center that is drawn from movies and not from life. And finally, our hero is told the FBI's biggest secret in an open public place. This would never ever happen, and it is staged this way only to help the pacing of the thing in terms of stagecraft. And that DIA computer room, with the nice clean Cray-like machines, is from the same fantasy world as "Red October's" neon-lighted missile tubes.

But in spite of all this, it works. And especially compared to "The Departed," it works, simply, cleanly, deeply.

That's because the filmmaker decided early in the game that he was going to do what the Hong Kong "Infernal Affairs" did well and others copied: this business of actors playing characters who are actors. In this case, we have two such in the same boat.

We have a top information manager at the FBI working for the Russians and acting normal, even when leading the hunt for himself. We have the young under cover guy pretending to be simply a clerk. Each intuits the other is watching. The older man completely wins at the start, with the younger man eventually besting him in artifice. Its a calculation that the filmmaker makes, when deciding not to tell us why our young hero does what he does and where he gets the tools. In an ordinary story, that would hurt, but here it is a wise decision because such "explaining" would get in the way of the economy of the thing. And it is all about economic connection with us.

Its a bit counterintuitive that effective stories sometimes get better by lopping off story elements and information. But it is true. Some students of the Hanssen case believe that Hanssen's primary motive was to show his own importance (as a information security planner) by revealing holes in the system that he would have plugged. I wish this film would have worked with that a bit, because this notion of helping the system by hurting is system is both what the story could have been about and the means used to tell the story.

Still, a good one.

As a historical note, there's a reason folks from the FBI and CIA, even senior ones, can't wander into NSA computing facilities. Hanssen wasn't allowed, probably a good thing at the time. Opus Dei again.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Sorry to ppl who liked it but i was SO BORED! goodgirlgonebad1
Don't you feel a little sorry for him? Kubrick_Reincarnated
The Stereotype is Soooo Predictable kevlut77
TRUE STORY is in MASTERSPY with William Hurt MexiCAN777
Dennis Haysbert sylvia67
I thought the Russians are now our friends mgm1212116
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