Unmasked - betrayal at the highest level

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Movie
German title Unmasked - betrayal at the highest level
Original title Breach
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 2007
length 110 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
JMK 10
Rod
Director Billy Ray
script Adam Mazer , William Rotko , Billy Ray
production Scott Kroopf , Robert F. Newmyer , Scott Strauss
music Mychael Danna
camera Tak Fujimoto
cut Jeffrey Ford
occupation

Breach - treason at the highest level ( Breach ) is an American thriller by Billy Ray from the year 2007 . He describes the "end game" of the hunt for FBI double agent Robert Hanssen in 2001.

action

Eric O'Neill is with the FBI and aspiring to be an agent. Unexpectedly, he is assigned to secretly observe agent Robert Hanssen , a long-time FBI employee and the country's leading computer specialist in counter-espionage . Hanssen, who is known for his rudeness and likes to denounce grievances internally, is suspected of having unusual sexual preferences.

O'Neill is assigned to Hanssen as secretary. The two also meet privately with their wives for dinner together. O'Neill, the behavior of the Catholic Hanssen seems completely normal and the man himself decent, and so he reports to Agent Kate Burroughs, his contact person, that he has learned nothing suspicious. He then learns from Burroughs that Hanssen is actually suspected of espionage for the Soviet Union and later for Russia. He reportedly betrayed many American agents in the KGB , some of whom were subsequently murdered, and handed over important documents about the location of secret facilities to the Russian secret service.

Hanssen himself led the search for the traitor for years, which is why he was able to manipulate all traces and clues that might point to him. Agent Burroughs makes it clear to O'Neill that this is the most important case the FBI has ever had to deal with. For security reasons, she had previously withheld the truth from O'Neill. In reality, 50 officers are after Hanssen, his office and his car are completely wired, and the Department of Computer Assurance Services is just a cloaking device for evacuating the double agent.

O'Neill and his suspicious boss respect each other after a while, but O'Neill's marriage deteriorates. In order to catch Hanssen in the act and thus get solid evidence for a conviction, O'Neill is instructed to help set up a trap for Hanssen. After a short time, Hanssen notices that something is wrong. In an intercepted PDA letter from Hanssen to the Russians, it becomes clear that he wants to end his espionage activities. After that, it would be more difficult to prove his crimes to him. Hanssen, who is on his nerve, wants to test O'Neill at the gunpoint to make sure he has not been hired by the FBI to spy on him. O'Neill takes advantage of this moment and accuses Hanssen of being too insignificant to be spied on. As a result, as if out of spite, Hanssen decided to put secret documents in a dead mailbox again and was arrested on this occasion. It was the largest espionage case in United States history; Hanssen had worked for the other side for more than 20 years.

O'Neill is about to be promoted to agent, but resigns from the FBI.

Reviews

Ruthe Stein criticized the San Francisco Chronicle of February 16, 2007 for paying too much attention to a relatively insignificant figure in the scene; the "lackluster" portrayal of Ryan Phillippe makes this worse. Laura Linney - "one of the best actresses in Hollywood" - has little to do; their talent is wasted.

Kenneth Turan wrote in the Los Angeles Times on February 16, 2007 that the film was full of suspense, misleading, and "brilliant depictions" as well as "engaging" psychological drama. It shows the complexity of interpersonal relationships. Ryan Phillippe with his "charisma of cool, stoic nature" is well cast.

Manohla Dargis wrote in the New York Times : “One of the strengths of 'Breach' is how it captures the utter banality of this man and his world. [...] Like ' The Office ' without a joke, like Kafka without a soul, in short: the FBI . [...] Ray does not explain to Hanssen; for this he shows symptoms , secrets, administrative processes and procedures ”.

"Chris Cooper [...] finally elevates the film character Hanssen to an extraordinary cinematic creation." ( Evolver )

The lexicon of the international film judges: "The distantly described character study of an FBI bureaucrat subverts all common genre rules, but sprinkles in a few moments of tension as compensation that follow classic suspense rules."

Awards

Mychael Danna was nominated as Film Composer of the Year for the World Soundtrack Award in 2007.

background

The character of Robert Hanssen is based on the real person of an FBI employee with this name who worked as a spy for the Soviet Union and later for Russia . He was arrested in 2001 and given a life sentence.

The real Eric O'Neill, now a lawyer, assisted the production in an advisory position.

The film was shot in Washington, DC , Arlington , Vienna (Virginia) and Toronto . It opened in cinemas in the USA on February 16, 2007 and grossed around 32.8 million US dollars there by April 1, 2007 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Release certificate for exposed - treason at the highest level . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , September 2007 (PDF; test number: 111 325 K).
  2. ↑ Age rating for exposed - betrayal at the highest level . Youth Media Commission .
  3. ↑ Hunter, p. Web links.
  4. ^ Review by Ruthe Stein, accessed on July 23, 2007
  5. ^ Review by Kenneth Turan, accessed July 23, 2007
  6. ↑ a b Manohla Dargis : What Will My Spy Be? Capitalist, Drone, Deviant ... In: The New York Times . February 16, 2007, accessed on March 4, 2009 : "One of the strengths of" Breach, "is how well it captures the utter banality of this man and his world. […] It's “The Office” without the jokes; Kafka without the soul. In other words, it's the FBI […] Mr. Ray doesn't explain Mr. Hanssen; rather, he offers us symptoms and secrets, procedures and routines "
  7. ↑ Dietmar Wohlfart: The spy who came from the church. In: Evolver. November 29, 2007, accessed March 4, 2009 .
  8. ↑ Unmasked - Treason at the highest level. Quoted in the Filmdienst online offer, overview, accessed in June 2019.
  9. ↑ Filming locations for Breach, accessed July 23, 2007
  10. ↑ Breach premiere dates, accessed July 23, 2007
  11. ↑ Box office / business for Breach, accessed July 23, 2007

Web links