The Good Shepherd

Eric Roth’s screenplay for The Good Shepherd had been floating around Hollywood for years and was considered one of the few exemplary scripts yet to be put into production. Now, under the guidance of Robert De Niro, it has finally made its way to the big screen. More of a spy saga than a spy thriller, The Good Shepherd chronicles the birth of the CIA and its rise through the early years of the Cold War as witnessed by one of its key players, Edward Wilson (Matt Damon). A bright student during his years at Yale, Wilson was recruited into the Skull & Bones society in 1939, allowing him to make the necessary connections that would lead him to work for O.S.S. during the war years. Stationed overseas in Berlin, Wilson sees nothing of his wife Clover (Angelina Jolie) and misses the entire childhood of his only son. When he finally returns home, ready to embark on his career as a CIA operative, he has become a stranger to his own family. The film opens in 1961, following the disaster of the Bay of Pigs, and Wilson’s story is told through flashbacks amidst this event. It’s a tedious structure for such a vast story, but De Niro feels no pressure to rush any of it. Another director may have felt inclined to quicken the pace, with rapid dialogue and more montages, but De Niro knows better. He takes his time to tell the story, giving the characters room to breathe and moments to think, and this, more than anything, accounts for the film’s lengthy running time. Damon shoulders most of the film, with everyone else appearing for only a few scenes, and the actor has rarely been better. He is brutally cold and restrained throughout the picture, using only his eyes to convey emotion. Some may label him as being too one-dimensional, but his lack of expression infuses the film with the exact sense of unattainabilty that is needed to convey the mystery of the spy world. It’s a terrific performance. Despite having little in common with either the Bond or the Bourne films, The Good Shepherd is, in many ways, the definitive spy movie. Roth’s script is incredibly cerebral, and does away with any semblance of action, which even the blandest spy thriller has in spades. Its quiet and realistic tone only serves to make it all the more frightening.

Directed by Robert De Niro.
Written by Eric Roth.
Starring Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Billy Crudup, Alec Baldwin, Michael Gambon, John Turturro, William Hurt, Oleg Stefan, Gabriel Macht, Lee Pace, Eddie Redmayne and Joe Pesci.

Rated R for some violence, sexuality and language. 167 min.

****½ so says The Fish