Breach

Knowing the ending of a movie you a watching in the first minute can take the sting out of it, but that's not the case with Breach , the true story of fallen FBI agent Robert Hanssen.
It is established in the opening that Hanssen is guilty of selling classified information to the Russians over a period of 20 or so years up to 2001.
Scarily portrayed by the excellent Chris Cooper, Hanssen is a devoted husband and Catholic and goes to church regularly. To the untrained eye he is the all-American good guy.
This certainly fools Eric O'Neill (Ryan Phillippe), who is a wannabe agent sent in by the FBI to bring down Hanssen. It is an unlikely pairing. The first thing Hanssen asks O'Neill is to tell him five things about him of which only four are true so he can pick the lie. Interesting.
O'Neill quickly feels out of his depth and approaches agent Kate Burroughs, played by the fabulous Laura Linney, demanding to know what he is up against.
Hanssen invades O'Neill's life, unsettling his marriage and making him constantly have to second guess himself. At one point O'Neill says `I'm telling so many lies I'm having trouble getting things straight'.
Phillipe is not known for his acting ability. But like he did for Hayden Christensen in Shattered Glass, writer and director Billy Ray brings out the best in Phillippe. Acting alongside Chris Cooper demands nothing less than brilliance and Phillippe delivers and delivers big time. He is outstanding in every way and certainly matches Cooper step for step. The movie was probably released at the wrong time, otherwise I'd say Phillippe should be up for a best supporting actor nod.
Breach is not everyone's cup of tea but it's safe to say if you liked Shattered Glass you'll like this. It is bleak, not flashy at all and requires concentration. But the rewards are there. A very strong 9 out of 10.