Don't drop the ball this week, rent 'Breach'
By Bruce R. Miller Journal staff writer | Posted: Sunday, June 10, 2007
Gabe Kaplan's coming to Sioux City for the Mardi Gras celebration in June. What better way to welcome him than to have complete knowledge of "Welcome Back Kotter"?
The first season of the hit TV series (apparently Sioux City's favorite back in the day) comes out on DVD Tuesday. The Sweathogs (including one John Travolta) are here in all their glory.
Want another primer? The second season of "The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries" is out, too -- just in time for the new movie "Nancy Drew," which hits next week.
One more? "Kathy Griffin: My Life On the D-List," season one, appears just before season two begins.
Need more? Don't push it.
There's one good film -- "Breach," starring Oscar winner Chris Cooper -- in the Tuesday mix.
In it, Cooper plays Robert Hanssen, a 25-year FBI veteran suspected of selling secrets to the Soviets. When his bosses want to confirm their suspicions, they call him back to the home office, give him a clerk (Ryan Phillippe) and wait for the clock to run out.
It does -- as the opening scene admits -- but not until director Billy Ray has played enough catch-me-if-you-can games to make everyone nervous. Phillippe's job? Befriend the boss so that he'll open up about his secret life.
Naturally, Cooper doesn't talk. He does, however, reveal pieces of the life he wants others to see -- the loving husband and father, the devoted churchgoer, the ace shooter. He has zero tolerance for most people (listen for the line about Hillary Clinton) and worries that the agency he supposedly loves is about to put him out to pasture.
Phillippe plays on that fear and uses his wife (Caroline Dhavernas) to forge an outside relationship. While the would-be agent seems mismatched, he really knows how to trip his boss' trigger. He asks plenty of questions, makes some dumb moves and, in the heat of battle, pulls Cooper back in.
Considering "Breach" contains very few action scenes it's amazing that it's so fraught with tension.
Ray obviously watched "All the President's Men." "Breach" has a similar feel -- making situations that work best on paper come to life on film. He gives the audience enough information to understand the crime, then offers up plenty of reasons to care.
While Phillippe's part could have been played by any number of young actors (Tom Cruise would have been a likely suspect a decade ago), he handles it well. Kathleen Quinlan is interesting, too, as Cooper's wife, and Laura Linney is positively perfect as the woman leading Phillippe through the sting. She has a no-nonsense part that keeps the story on an even keel. She's all business. But in one scene, there's that slight crack that tells oh-so-much.
When the final drop is made, "Breach" nicely straddles the line between dread and relief. While the story suggests bigger things will happen (Is someone a double agent? Is Hanssen misunderstood?), they don't. Instead, this is by-the-books drama that comes to life through its performances.
Linney is crucial but Cooper is key. The chameleonic actor can play any emotion and make it believable. As a guy with a secret life, he's unstoppable. He goes into "Breach" with one mission and comes out with an entirely different one. Think of all the Shakespearean roles he could make new. Iago? Richard II? Lear? They're all within his grasp. "Breach" is his bridge.
Also this week:
TV: "Bam's Unholy Union," season one; "Deadwood," season three; "Diagnosis Murder," season two; "The Practice," season one; "Red Shoe Diaries," season one; "Waiting for God," series two; "Walker, Texas Ranger," season three; "What's Happening Now," season one.
Film: "Blood and Chocolate"; "Charley's Aunt"; "Ghost Rider"; "Glastonbury"; "The Hustler"; "Jesse Stone"; "Primeval"; "Silk"; "The Three Musketeers"; "Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls"; "The Verdict"
The first season of the hit TV series (apparently Sioux City's favorite back in the day) comes out on DVD Tuesday. The Sweathogs (including one John Travolta) are here in all their glory.
Want another primer? The second season of "The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries" is out, too -- just in time for the new movie "Nancy Drew," which hits next week.
One more? "Kathy Griffin: My Life On the D-List," season one, appears just before season two begins.
Need more? Don't push it.
There's one good film -- "Breach," starring Oscar winner Chris Cooper -- in the Tuesday mix.
In it, Cooper plays Robert Hanssen, a 25-year FBI veteran suspected of selling secrets to the Soviets. When his bosses want to confirm their suspicions, they call him back to the home office, give him a clerk (Ryan Phillippe) and wait for the clock to run out.
It does -- as the opening scene admits -- but not until director Billy Ray has played enough catch-me-if-you-can games to make everyone nervous. Phillippe's job? Befriend the boss so that he'll open up about his secret life.
Naturally, Cooper doesn't talk. He does, however, reveal pieces of the life he wants others to see -- the loving husband and father, the devoted churchgoer, the ace shooter. He has zero tolerance for most people (listen for the line about Hillary Clinton) and worries that the agency he supposedly loves is about to put him out to pasture.
Phillippe plays on that fear and uses his wife (Caroline Dhavernas) to forge an outside relationship. While the would-be agent seems mismatched, he really knows how to trip his boss' trigger. He asks plenty of questions, makes some dumb moves and, in the heat of battle, pulls Cooper back in.
Considering "Breach" contains very few action scenes it's amazing that it's so fraught with tension.
Ray obviously watched "All the President's Men." "Breach" has a similar feel -- making situations that work best on paper come to life on film. He gives the audience enough information to understand the crime, then offers up plenty of reasons to care.
While Phillippe's part could have been played by any number of young actors (Tom Cruise would have been a likely suspect a decade ago), he handles it well. Kathleen Quinlan is interesting, too, as Cooper's wife, and Laura Linney is positively perfect as the woman leading Phillippe through the sting. She has a no-nonsense part that keeps the story on an even keel. She's all business. But in one scene, there's that slight crack that tells oh-so-much.
When the final drop is made, "Breach" nicely straddles the line between dread and relief. While the story suggests bigger things will happen (Is someone a double agent? Is Hanssen misunderstood?), they don't. Instead, this is by-the-books drama that comes to life through its performances.
Linney is crucial but Cooper is key. The chameleonic actor can play any emotion and make it believable. As a guy with a secret life, he's unstoppable. He goes into "Breach" with one mission and comes out with an entirely different one. Think of all the Shakespearean roles he could make new. Iago? Richard II? Lear? They're all within his grasp. "Breach" is his bridge.
Also this week:
TV: "Bam's Unholy Union," season one; "Deadwood," season three; "Diagnosis Murder," season two; "The Practice," season one; "Red Shoe Diaries," season one; "Waiting for God," series two; "Walker, Texas Ranger," season three; "What's Happening Now," season one.
Film: "Blood and Chocolate"; "Charley's Aunt"; "Ghost Rider"; "Glastonbury"; "The Hustler"; "Jesse Stone"; "Primeval"; "Silk"; "The Three Musketeers"; "Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls"; "The Verdict"
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