The Movie

I tend to avoid political discussion and commentary while writing my reviews. I don't want to write it, and you don't want to read it. I enjoy this symbiotic relationship we share; it keeps you unencumbered by some jackball's half-assed political leanings, and it keeps me from attempting to look like I know what I'm talking about. Now how's that for sincerity?

So I'll feel free to avoid commenting upon the situation regarding convicted traitor Robert Hanssen, except to present the facts. For nearly two decades, the former FBI analyst channeled extensive information to the Soviets in exchange for copious amounts of cash. This man sold out his country, abusing his position as a federal agent that gave him access to a wealth of sensitive and vital information regarding national security. He delivered to the Soviets, in meticulous detail, governmental plans regarding redundancy and operational plans that were to be used in the case of thermonuclear conflict. As a result of his treason, three KGB double-agents working on behalf of United States intelligence were exposed and summarily executed. As it were, Hanssen's traitorous activities were eventually discovered. He was arrested and convicted, receiving a life term as the result of a plea arrangement.

Writer Norman Mailer and director Laurence Schiller collaborated on Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story, an ambitious but curiously limp television movie that attempts to condense Hanssen's entire tale into a two-hour block. The film sports an impressive cast, including William Hurt as Robert Hanssen and featuring other top talent such as Peter Boyle, David Strathairn, Ron Silver, and Mary-Louise Parker, but they seem to be lost in a meandering plotline that, while fascinating in parts, needs to be further fleshed out in order to give the story a chance to gel. Often in the film, too much happens too quickly, and then seemingly nothing happens for scenes on end. The film is also hampered by some questionable narrative techniques. For example, voice-overs in film rarely work, and first-person voice-overs never do. During several scenes, Hanssen stares at himself in the mirror as his inner monologue plays over the background. It's a week stylistic choice, and it makes an already questionable film even weaker. Schiller's direction seems rather flat and lifeless; in a story ripe with possibility, this film seems to drag from one scene to another without direction, often with such forced, clichéd dialog that reeks of "Movie-Of-The-Week" insincerity.

I wish I could have enjoyed the film more; this is subject-matter that should have been handled with greater depth and intensity. That having been said, Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story makes for a fairly decent DVD package.

The DVD

Video:
While the packaging states that the film is presented in 1.33:1 full-frame, it is actually presented in a very good 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. Don't be fooled! While I was dismayed at the opening scenes, which were so rife with compression noise that I assumed must have been grainy stock footage (I was wrong), the remainder of the video transfer was pretty tight. Most scenes displayed some remarkably crisp and detailed images, although a few were betrayed by some fuzzy softness. Colors are remarkably strong and vibrant, with excellent separations and lushness. Contrasts are decent but occasional overzealous, resulting in some edge-enhancement and haloing. Ghost images are extremely minor but evident throughout a few scenes. Black levels are deep, with fine shadow delineation throughout the picture. Overall, while flawed, the transfer is fairly good, especially for television material.

Audio:
The Dolby Digital 2.0 audio presentation is acceptable if not overly remarkable. The 2.0 audio is acceptable, with some well-staged fidelity and some noticeable separation and spatiality to the front soundstage. The rendering of the dialog is fine, with good clarity and reasonable delivery. Surround activity is somewhat minimal but appropriately staged, as is the LFE activity. You won't find an overly aggressive or immersive audio presentation, but it is certainly serves the subject matter in an engaging and appropriate manner.

Extras:
This DVD surprisingly comes with a nice collection of value-adding extras. Starting things off is a feature-length Director's Commentary with director Laurence Schiller. Schiller is a lively and entertaining presence who shares a good deal of information regarding the subject matter as well as the creation of the film. There is also a Behind the Scenes featurette which interviews Schiller, writer Norman Mailer, and many of the cast members of the film. While relatively short (it runs for about 15 minutes), it packs in a good deal of information about the creation of the television movie and is very entertaining. Finally, there are 13 Deleted Scenes with optional Directory Commentary. I feel many of these should have been included in the final film, as they give the movie greater depth and coherency.

Final Thoughts

There were some rather interesting points brought up throughout the Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story. I appreciate that the film didn't try to take a sympathetic view of Hanssen, but rather attempted to understand the background and situations that led him down the road of treason and betrayal. His relationship with his abusive father, his dominating wife, strict Catholic lifestyle, extreme political conservativism, dalliances with mistresses, and borderline homoerotic relationship with best-friend Jack Hoschouer all converge to paint a picture of a man in constant betrayal of the things that value most to him: his wife, his family, his religion, his politics, and ultimately his country. Unfortunately, the film doesn't do much with this wealth of material. It is presented but barely explored. Nonetheless, fans of the movie will undoubtedly be pleased with this DVD. It contains a good presentation of the material and some fine extras. I'd give this one a rental first; it's an ambitious but flawed film, but a pretty good DVD.