Unto the...

This past weekend, I headed out to the movie theater to catch Breach, the real-life story of a famous FBI mole, starring Chris Cooper and Ryan Phillippe. I knew going in that while this was a "spy movie," it was not at all an "action movie," so I suppose I was just a little fearful that this would turn out to be another Good Shepherd. Fortunately, that was not at all the case.

The Good Shepherd fell down in two major ways -- in its failure to establish any empathy for its main character, and in the utter lack of tension despite an ostensibly suspenseful setting. Breach fell into neither pitfall.

As for the characters, you're not only drawn into the journey of the hero (Ryan Phillippe's character), but Chris Cooper gives a brilliant performance that draws you in to the villain as well. He's not a monster. And he clearly has his reasons for what he does, but there's ample room for you to speculate at what those might be -- they're not spelled out easily.

As for the tension, the movie does a splendid job of delivering. This is a particularly amazing accomplishment, since most people know the outcome of this true story before entering the theater, and those who don't are told point blank in the opening thirty seconds of the film. And yet, there are a number of very tense "race against the clock" sequences, "will someone get caught in the act or not?" sequences, and meaningful conflicts between characters.

It all comes together well, not as the greatest film you'll have seen in ages, but as a solid and enjoyable one. I give it a B.

And as a short footnote, I should mention an odd coincidence about the day I went to the movie. We went Sunday, February 18th. In real life, Chris Cooper's character was arrested on Sunday, February 18th (in 2001). There was a quiet titter in the audience when the date popped up on screen. Unfortunately, for those who want to experience this sort of numeric synchronicity themselves, I believe you won't be able to until the year 2012.

But hey, it will be out on DVD by then.