Breach: a movie review
Well, not a review in the proper sense. Just some notes.
Last Sunday Steve and I went to a movie... again! Second weekend in a row. This time it was a movie of his choice, "Breach". It is a real life-based story about the capture of Robert Hanssen, an FBI agent who spied for Russians. I like spy movies, or at least don't hate them. I don't have much to say about its artistic merit; it's kind of unremarkable that way. Instead, the only thoughts I had about it is whether it's true to the real life events it's based on. Was the the real-life FBI clerk who brought about Hanssen's capture really so cunning at emotional manipulation of his boss (Hanssen)? I also found it funny that even though Hanssen (in the movie, at least) is reported to be a "sexual deviant", his deviancy did not play a part in his capture. In a formulaic spy movie or thriller it probably would have, but not here. It did not turn out to be a chink in his armor; the investigators did not catch him by exploiting his vices. No, the flaw in Hanssen's defenses turned out to be his extreme religiosity, which his clerk skillfully exploited to gain Hanssen's trust and to orchestrate certain situations that allowed the investigators to gather critical evidence against Hanssen.
Overall, "Breach" was not a bad movie for killing time. Or would have been, except that my legal standards for killing time are probably far more rigorous than those of most people. I demand a very strict proof of Time's guilt, and I insist on the most humane execution method possible. While preparing for death, Time should be forced to contemplate the consequences of its crime and fully realize the justice of its punishment. A proper weapon for that might be not "Breach", but for example something from Pedro Almodovar filmography. And we were planning to see "Volver", only to find out that as of last Sunday it wasn't playing in Austin anymore. (Well, almost. For all practical purposes it's not.)
Last Sunday Steve and I went to a movie... again! Second weekend in a row. This time it was a movie of his choice, "Breach". It is a real life-based story about the capture of Robert Hanssen, an FBI agent who spied for Russians. I like spy movies, or at least don't hate them. I don't have much to say about its artistic merit; it's kind of unremarkable that way. Instead, the only thoughts I had about it is whether it's true to the real life events it's based on. Was the the real-life FBI clerk who brought about Hanssen's capture really so cunning at emotional manipulation of his boss (Hanssen)? I also found it funny that even though Hanssen (in the movie, at least) is reported to be a "sexual deviant", his deviancy did not play a part in his capture. In a formulaic spy movie or thriller it probably would have, but not here. It did not turn out to be a chink in his armor; the investigators did not catch him by exploiting his vices. No, the flaw in Hanssen's defenses turned out to be his extreme religiosity, which his clerk skillfully exploited to gain Hanssen's trust and to orchestrate certain situations that allowed the investigators to gather critical evidence against Hanssen.
Overall, "Breach" was not a bad movie for killing time. Or would have been, except that my legal standards for killing time are probably far more rigorous than those of most people. I demand a very strict proof of Time's guilt, and I insist on the most humane execution method possible. While preparing for death, Time should be forced to contemplate the consequences of its crime and fully realize the justice of its punishment. A proper weapon for that might be not "Breach", but for example something from Pedro Almodovar filmography. And we were planning to see "Volver", only to find out that as of last Sunday it wasn't playing in Austin anymore. (Well, almost. For all practical purposes it's not.)