And to say that Hanssen had some "redeeming personal qualities." What would they be?
Compassion, specifically for Eric's mother's health (even if Eric lied about her having Parkinson's), and genuine concern for Eric's marriage, officious as he might have went about expressing it.
Did you just "click" through the film? Maybe you should go back and watch it again because Eric growing to admire Hanssen for those very qualities is an important part of the plot for the first hour or so.
In contrast to Hanssen, Juliana didn't have any depth. All she did was make Eric's home life miserable, pressure him to share classified information with her in violation of federal law, snoop on his videotapes from work, and generally be so shrewish that Eric hard to quit his dream job because of her and her nosiness. Apparently, she thought there was some "wife exception" to confidentiality that gave her the right to be privy to the top-secret details of her husband's work, as if
his security clearance was
hers by right of marriage.
Juliana was the quintessential wet blanket.
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aGuiltySoul
11 years ago
Oh yeah, that Hanssen was a saint, all right. Cause he expressed concern about Eric's mother's health. Too bad about those Russian counter spies who were working for the US; their health took a real downturn when they were shot.
I think Julia was rightfully concerned about the secretive, exhausting turn her husband's life was taking. You seem to have some issues with women in general and wives in particular.
It's not what a movie is about, it's how it is about it. RIP Roger Ebert
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morganseer
9 years ago
I'm a woman, and I had a problem with her too. Not that her reactions were unrealistic, lots of people have them. But if I were Eric, I'd have ripped my hair out, with her demanding something I couldn't give her. No fair backing a man in a corner. She was in a tough spot, but it's not like she didn't know what she was getting into.
As for her concerns, there are better ways of expressing them.
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