Review of Breach (2007) by Peterc. — 17 Feb 2008

The mistake of reviewers who pan this film is their expecting something before entering the theater: cat-and-mouse action, a bright color palette, a plot that doubles back on itself, someone other than Ryan Phillippe, a need to understand the mystery of Hanssen, no Catholic bashing, a fast paced movie, etc.

I hate slow pacing and dopey theatrics and The Good Shepherd takes the cake. This movie is one of a piece in terms of mood and tone. It has tension, but is able to make religiousity compelling. It is a story about being confused about what makes someone a good Catholic and a patriotic American.

And you are going to be left with a mystery because this man is so tightly wound, even though there are sufficient clues. He has a mess of a personality, but no awareness of that. Instead, he projects that mess onto everyone else, with airtight logic that is only comprehensible to himself.

That is what paranoia is all about. How do I know? I'm a psychiatrist and work in the DC area. If not paranoid, enough persons I have met who can't talk about their work, but you know where they work, ain't the life of the party.

The core of this movie is both about a man (played with brilliant restrained tension by Chris Cooper") and about a good and idealistic boy who finds himself betraying those closest to him. Neither one believes he has a choice in the matter but to betray his country or betray those closest to him.

This is a top ten film.