Title: The Good Shepherd
Starring: Matt Damon, Robert De Niro, Angelina Jolie, John Turturro
Directed By: Robert De Niro
Produced By: Frances Ford Coppola, Chris Brigham, Guy McElwaine
Genre: Drama, Romance and Thriller
Release Date: December 22th 2006
MPAA Rating: R for some violence, sexuality and language
Distributors: Universal Pictures

Edward Wilson understands the value of secrecy - discretion and commitment to honor have been embedded in him since childhood. As an eager, optimistic student at Yale, he is recruited to join the secret society Skull and Bones, a brotherhood and breeding ground for future world leaders. Wilson's acute mind, spotless reputation and sincere belief in American values render him a prime candidate for a career in intelligence, and he is soon recruited to work for the OSS (the precursor to the CIA) during WWII. As one of the covert founders of the CIA, working in the heart of an organization where duplicity is required and nothing is taken at face value, Edward's idealism is steadily eroded by a growing suspicious nature, reflective of a world settling into the long paranoia of the Cold War. As his methods are adopted as standard operating procedure, Wilson develops into one of the Agency's veteran operatives, all the while combating his KGB counterpart. However, his steely dedication to his country comes at an ever-increasing price. Not even his wife Clover or his beloved son can divert Wilson from a path that will force him to sacrifice everything in pursuit of this job. -Yahoo Movies

My impression? You need to have a basic grasp of history in order to fully grasp what is going on in this film and I will be the first to admit that I slept through most of my History classes. So that may be an influence on this review. Bay of Pigs? I think of a bay with pigs floating in it. Ask me about Castro or Cuba and I think of cigars. I just wanted to get that out of the way so you readers who are history buffs or fans of dramas can either be forewarned or just stop reading now. People don't usually like what they don't understand and I am one of them.

I didn't like The Good Shepard, partly for the reason stated above and partly that I was expecting more from the cast. Not performance wise, but Joe Pesci and Timothy Hutton get one scene apiece, for a combined total of roughly five minutes out of an overly long three hours. And three hours of no action and very little excitement can take it's toll on ones opinion. As I was leaving the theater I overheard a woman behind me claim to her friend that she was just resting her eyes. I asked what she had gone to see and it was The Good Shepherd. Another problem was that Matt Damon didn't look any different from one time period to the next. There was also some bad dubbing including a shot where Angelina Jolie comes in close to whisper something in Damon's ear and you can plainly see that her mouth isn't moving. There were a few other issues with the audio but I'm not going to beat a dead horse.

Every movie has good and bad elements to it and I don't want to focus solely on the bad. This movie was visually stimulating. The use of actual news footage along with scenes that began by looking like old black and white news footage and fading into color helped to place the characters and events into the right time frame. The Skull and Bones Club initiation scenes while slightly superfluous to the story were none the less well executed and ominous in appearance. The most interesting aspect to me was the macabre game of tag between Wilson and his Russian counterpart. If they would have trimmed down the first half and focused more on this aspect the film would have been more entertaining and suspenseful.

Besides the noticeable lack of screentime for certain advertised actors, this ensemble cast delivers. Well mostly. Matt Damon doesn't show much emotion but I guess when you work for the government you aren't allowed to have any. The few emotional times that he does show emotion are done well although for most of the film I am reminded of the parody of him in Team America (“MATT DAMON!” is all that his puppet said through the whole film). Angelina Jolie is sex, plain and simple. God, I love this woman, she can give a look that says “I'm going to eat you alive.” The first scene that she is in she seduces Wilson in about 5 minutes! Then she goes into safe mode except for a few scenes with Damon later in the film. The rest of the cast flesh out their parts well. Even with all the big names none of the performances really jumps out at me except maybe John Turturro, who I am used to seeing in comedic roles such as in Mr.Deeds, The Big Lebowski and O Brother, Where Art Thou. I saw a more serious side to him here that I am not accustomed to. Other cast members include Billy Crudup, who I didn't even recognize, Alec Baldwin, William Hurt and Robert De Niro. Another I didn't recognize was Micheal Gambon, Harry Potter's Dumbledore. I must say he has one of the more authoritative voices that I have heard in a long time. I would love to hear him as a narrator.

The film has some interesting creative aspects but it still falls short. It is an overly long movie with a lot going on but not much happening. It felt like a long lesson during the last period of the last day of school. Just remember that this is a review from a guy who goes to the movies to be entertained, not taught. There's a reason I didn't go to college. It will be interesting to read the contrasting reviews that are bound to follow this movie throughout it's run.

I took two ideas away from this film,
A. Government is God, which is a comparison that is actually mentioned in the film, albeit jokingly.

B. Trust no one. And where have have we heard that one before?

Keep reading,
and please, don't shoot the messenger.

Mitch E.
mitchemerson@hotmail.com