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While it’s my pleasure to write for DVDFile, I also write for a Los Angeles-based weekly newspaper called L.A. Citybeat. It’s one of those free weeklies that begins with trenchant, elegantly angry, political analysis that regularly surpasses anything in the major L.A. newspapers (although if you read L.A.’s major newspapers, that wouldn’t take much). Then, slowly, it devolves into ads for escort services and massage parlors, but that’s typical for independent free weeklies. When my Citybeat editor asked me to review Breach, I knew little about it except it starred Chris Cooper (which is good) and it was being released at the beginning of the year (which is bad). The reviews I write for L.A Citybeat are difficult because you only get 230 words to state your case. That means every single word has to mean something. If I can convey a thought using two words instead of three words, it’s important because I may need that word later; I’ll agonize for hours over my draconian word allotment, trying to figure out if I’m being as concise as possible while still making my opinion clear.

Last week, I saw Ocean’s Thirteen for Citybeat. I saw the film at 7:30 pm, got home at 10 pm and started writing to make the next day’s noon deadline. I didn’t go to sleep until 3 am. Then I woke up at 7:30 am and wrote until I left for work. At work I finished the review, barely submitting it by noon. And that’s for 230 freakin’ words. Maybe it takes me so long because I’m a terrible writer, but I seriously go mental reading and re-reading and re-re-reading my review, deciding how to convey a thought better, using less words. DVDFile has no word limit on reviews and my reviews can be, and often are, endless. I can babble on forever, with no editor telling me “I’m growing old reading this tome” (usually, reader reaction is along the lines of “I guess English is Mark’s second language.”). Below is my 232-word review of Breach for L.A. Citybeat. I was two words over my limit, but at the time, I thrust my fist into the air defiantly and yelled, “I’ll be damned if I’m going to cut two words out of this damn review.”

The pursuit and capture of Robert Hanssen, the FBI mole responsible for the most damaging intelligence compromise in American history, is craftily reenacted by director Billy Ray (Shattered Glass) as muted and intellectual warfare between two men armed only with paranoia and closely-guarded secrets. Hanssen (Chris Cooper) spent over twenty years selling classified information to Moscow, resulting in the deaths of KGB double agents and monetary losses so staggering the exact figure remains classified. To catch him, the Bureau asks Hanssen to head a new division, really a front to keep closer tabs on him. Wannabe agent Eric O’Neill  (Ryan Phillippe) is installed as his clerk and told to report on his boss’s every move. But Hanssen’s antennae never retract, and while mentoring Eric on spying and leading a pious life, he’s calculating whether his subordinate is friend or foe.

Phillippe is not an interesting actor, but he’s a fine actuator for the amazing Cooper, who internalizes both sides of Hanssen’s dichotomous life: the Roman Catholic and lifelong public servant who is also a sexual deviant and government traitor. The film moves at the methodical pace of its characters, wringing noose-tight drama from every sideways glance and offhand remark. Ray nails the unglamorous reality of the spying game: the fate of nations isn’t determined by James Bond, but by dull gray men sitting behind metal desks, their In-box filled only with suspicion.

So there you have it. Two hundred and thirty two words. But if I may add: the disconnect between Hanssen’s beliefs and his actions make the film that much more fascinating. Outwardly, Hanssen hated Godless Communists, but simultaneously, he was selling state secrets to those same Russians. And he was able to compartmentalize each act. There was irony involved, as far as he was concerned. He’s a great character and Billy Ray (whose previous film, Shattered Glass, was also about a man able to compartmentalize bad behavior) has turned Hanssen’s story into a very strong film.

The Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The film is presented on DVD in a 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer. This transfer is good, with reservations. I noticed a smidge of noise in some of the darker scenes and mild edge halos were visible. Otherwise, the transfer is okay. The color palette is pretty limited. It’s a wintry flick that takes place in stone, cold corridors and outside marble buildings. There’s also steel blues that are nice to look at, if a bit soft. So there aren’t many bold colors. Things warm up a bit in the O’Neill’s apartment, but that only introduces some browns. What colors there are look clear enough. Much of the film takes place at night. The blacks are a bit muddy for my taste, although they don’t rise to the level of negligent. The interior blacks fair worse than the exterior blacks. However, there are a couple of scenes in a church that look really nice, mostly thanks to ace DP Tak Fujimoto. Grain only appeared in the darker scenes. The exterior daytimes scenes were mostly shot during overcast days, but I found no grain in these scenes. There are no source flaws in this largely average transfer.

The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio makes more of an impression than the video. It’s a low-key affair, to be sure, but there’s a sense of delicacy to the presentation that matches the secretive nature of the characters. The music sounds especially good, showing nice detail as it utilized the rears and sides. It’s responsible for opening up the movie quite nicely. Dialogue sounds tight and clean. Effects sometimes come in from the sides and the back, but it’s such a dialogue heavy movie that the opportunities are limited. There are some gunshots, which are pretty loud, arguably too loud for the rest of the film, although that may have been the point. It’s not a very expansive track, but it’s a tight little number that’s appropriate to the movie.

There’s also a French 5.1 track, English Closed Captions and English, French and Spanish subtitles.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

Going in the order they appear on the Bonus Features menu: first up is Deleted Scenes. There are eight such scenes adding up to about 12 minutes. Each feature optional audio commentary by writer/director Bill Ray and editor Jeffrey Ford. Some of the scenes further illuminate how brilliant Hanssen was and how dismissive his bosses were. A couple feature Gary Cole, and there’s just no way to look at that guy without thinking of his great comedy performances in Office Space and Talladega Nights. I liked watching these scene, because I liked the movie. Ultimately, in the words of Ray and Ford, it came down to “is the scene necessary” and most of these are not. Audio and video quality are excellent.

Next are two alternate scenes, which run a total of about six minutes. Ray is refreshingly honest (in the sense that admitting his mistakes increases our respect for him, not diminishes it) in discussing a “miscalibration” in the writing of the scene where Eric’s wife discovers the pornography tape in their home. It came down to “begging the studio to let me reshoot.”

The Making-Of featurette is called Breaching the Truth. About 11 minutes long, and it includes plenty of on-set interviews, including the real Eric O’Neill and director Billy Ray. O’Neill got permission from the FBI to pitch a book project, which fell through. That morphed into a movie pitch and they were off and running. It’s pretty standard in the telling, but the story of the film is so interesting that this featurette becomes interesting. Also interviewed are first AD Richard L. Fox, producer Scott Kroopf, executive producer Adam Merims, production designer Wynn Thomas, and actors Chris Cooper, Ryan Phillippe, Caroline Dhavernas, Laura Linney, and Dennis Haysbert.

Anatomy of a Character contains a noteworthy subtitle: brought to you by Volkswagen. I’ve never seen a DVD supplement sponsored by a third-party company which is then mentioned in the menu. A trend? I hope not, especially considering the quality of this extra. This is a fluffy and dispensable Making-Of. It includes an interview with director Billy Ray and star Chris Cooper. There is a funny line: in deciding who should play Hanssen, Ray says it came down to “who would I not want thinking of me as an idiot?”

Next is The Mole an episode of Dateline NBC that aired in 2001. It makes sense to throw this supplement on the DVD. Universal and NBC are corporate siblings and the piece is good. It’s hosted by Chris Hansen, who’d later host those disturbing child predator segments for the show. For those who watch the film and want to learn more about Hanssen, definitely watch this.

Finally is the audio commentary by writer/director Billy Ray and former FBI operative Eric O’Neill, who is portrayed by Phillippe in the film. O’Neill has less to say than Ray, which makes sense because this is a movie. But when O’Neill speaks, you really listen to what he says and he always says something interesting.

Exclusive DVD- ROM Features: What happens when you pop the disc into your PC?

There are no DVD-ROM features on this DVD.