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Breach

Well made, interesting, but not at par with the true, thrilling episode of international esponiage this is based on.

• Objective/Stakes and Show- Don’t Tell

There’s no tension until the end and that’s because the stakes are minimal. Though he’s the main character, Ryan Philippe potentially getting caught and perhaps murdered are not enough because that’s only one side of the story. Virtually all of Robert Hansenn’s damage was already done by the opening of the flick so the filmmakers needed some other device to heat up things, regardless of the reality that transpired.

What could’ve done the trick is mentioning the possible last drop by the middle of the story, not at the end of Act 2. And not just that there would’ve been another drop, but the consequences of what would’ve happened if it had succeeded. This is all the moreso because the story starts two months before Hansenn’s forced retirement and the FBI felt it was imperitave to catch him red-handed. The flick also could’ve played up the deadline angle…

The other approach would’ve been more like Zodiac and The Good Shepherd. Start earlier in Hansenn’s career, show more of the damage he’s causing the US (instead of merely saying it)…and then bring in Phillippe and the rest of the above.

• The end, Little things

What happened to the package in the park..did the FBI nab the Russian(s) involved? The text at the end said much of the damage to the FBI and its allies is classified, but I don’t see how the above is included in that.

Chuck The Movie Guy interviews Ryan Phillippe.

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