This film was well done from a couple of perspectives.
First, it was an eye-opening picture of one of the biggest traitors in American history. The story of the extent of Richard Hansson's perfidy and of the damage that he did to our intelligence gathering efforts for a couple of decades -- all while serving as a respected insider in what claims to be America's best investigative agency* -- was engrossing. Chris Cooper, as Hansson, gives an excellent performance as a profoundly troubled and twisted man, who is brilliant, unlikeable by all except his religious wife and his grandchildren and, ultimately, unfathomable. Similarly, Eric Phillippe was perfect as the young FBI clerk who became one of the important actors in Hansson's ultimate undoing (along w/ an army of other dedicated agents).
Second, Cooper/Hansson's observations about the state of the FBI's IT systems and intelligence gathering and analysis capabilities in early 2001 are spot-on and scary. It is quite easy to understand why any hints about the coming firestorm in Lower Manhattan were lost. Moreoever, the description of how the most important thing to most agents was who would get the office with a window (or the best G-car or the best or latest Blackberry) and who would get on the high profile cases that would advance his/her career is one of the Bureau's most disgraceful dirty secrets. Like Hansson, I remember when the Bureau sent all the fatties and "odd" agents to the Foreign Counter Intelligence squads -- "rubber gun squads." I believe one of those agents, an extreme fatty and member of a major American religious faith, fell in love with a Russian spy, causing considerable embarrassment but little damage. Although I have been away from federal law enforcement for a while, I suspect that things have not changed all that much even now.**
In the end, this movie was a good story (even though we knew the outcome from the beginning) and a lens that focused us on a glaring (and uncorrected?) deficit in our country's security. I have spent the last 12 or so hours trying to figure out why Hansson did it. As the movie made clear, I'm not alone.
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*Others in law enforcement are more inclined to see the FBI as a legend in it's own mind!
**And I suspect that there is an added concern now in these post-911 times and that is moving potentially explosive investigations to someone else's desk (or to another agency) before they blow up on one's own watch.
First, it was an eye-opening picture of one of the biggest traitors in American history. The story of the extent of Richard Hansson's perfidy and of the damage that he did to our intelligence gathering efforts for a couple of decades -- all while serving as a respected insider in what claims to be America's best investigative agency* -- was engrossing. Chris Cooper, as Hansson, gives an excellent performance as a profoundly troubled and twisted man, who is brilliant, unlikeable by all except his religious wife and his grandchildren and, ultimately, unfathomable. Similarly, Eric Phillippe was perfect as the young FBI clerk who became one of the important actors in Hansson's ultimate undoing (along w/ an army of other dedicated agents).
Second, Cooper/Hansson's observations about the state of the FBI's IT systems and intelligence gathering and analysis capabilities in early 2001 are spot-on and scary. It is quite easy to understand why any hints about the coming firestorm in Lower Manhattan were lost. Moreoever, the description of how the most important thing to most agents was who would get the office with a window (or the best G-car or the best or latest Blackberry) and who would get on the high profile cases that would advance his/her career is one of the Bureau's most disgraceful dirty secrets. Like Hansson, I remember when the Bureau sent all the fatties and "odd" agents to the Foreign Counter Intelligence squads -- "rubber gun squads." I believe one of those agents, an extreme fatty and member of a major American religious faith, fell in love with a Russian spy, causing considerable embarrassment but little damage. Although I have been away from federal law enforcement for a while, I suspect that things have not changed all that much even now.**
In the end, this movie was a good story (even though we knew the outcome from the beginning) and a lens that focused us on a glaring (and uncorrected?) deficit in our country's security. I have spent the last 12 or so hours trying to figure out why Hansson did it. As the movie made clear, I'm not alone.
-----------
*Others in law enforcement are more inclined to see the FBI as a legend in it's own mind!
**And I suspect that there is an added concern now in these post-911 times and that is moving potentially explosive investigations to someone else's desk (or to another agency) before they blow up on one's own watch.