The Good Shepherd (2006)

If you're out to see a movie soon, this is one that should be on the top of your list. An all-star cast and an intriguing story isn't all that this movie has. It has some great performances from both Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie that are likely to get some award nominations.

I won't give any spoilers, I'll just give my background and overall opinion. When I saw the commercials, I thought it seemed interesting, but not interesting enough to get me out of my seat right now to go see it. It just didn't seem to have anything totally different than other movies, other than the combination of actors. Since I just got to see it anyway, I realized that it's one of those movies that ends up being better than you think it would be.

Matt Damon, as always, plays a good serious guy who's smart, savvy, and dedicated to his job. It kind of reminded me of his characters in The Departed and the Bourne Identity, except it's in a different situation and setting. His performance in this role was very fitting and believable.

Angelina Jolie surprisingly worked well with this role. In the commercials I thought she was a little too wild compared to Matt Damon's calm character, but she really brought out the emotion of a wife who felt shut out and didn't have a complete relationship with and understanding of her husband.

Robert DeNiro of course was great. It was a nicely added touch to an already good movie.

While I wouldn't say it's as factual as the History Channel, I think the subject of the movie does put good insight on the history of the CIA. I think people who are into government/politics and history would like the storyline. It does focus quite a bit on his family relationship and how it is affected by his job in the CIA, and I'm sure any couple who has been in a similar situation would understand it.

Overall, the movie was better than I thought and I would recommend it to movie-goers, especially those who like suspense and any of the main characters.

Fmovies: Before I go on to praise the good points of THE GOOD SHEPHERD, I should mention at the start that the film badly needed some judicious editing. There are many scenes that go on for too long a time and are badly in need of some artful editing to get the point across just as well.

Aside from length, everything else about the film is on the plus side--the handsome cinematography, the vast amount of settings, the background score that adds to the drama, and the performances of the entire cast which are uniformly good. I'm not a great admirer of ANGELINA JOLIE as an actress, but here I think she demonstrated skill at suggesting the loneliness, frustrations and jealousies of a woman whose life has to remain outside the boundaries of her husband's job with the CIA. Through a series of detailed vignettes, the murky world of an agent's life of deception within the government is sharply observed.

More of a character study of Edward Wilson (played in stolid, very serious fashion by MATT DAMON) than a straightforward spy yarn, it manages to hold the interest even though it uses the flashback method of storytelling that is apt to confuse a viewer if it isn't done well. But here again, there is a flaw--it covers a span of twenty or more years but the aging of the central character is never quite convincing enough. Damon never looks that much older than his grown son--whereas a few gray hairs might have helped considerably. As his grown son, EDDIE REDMAYNE does reasonably well as the man seeking his father's approval.

As for the supporting players in this story about one man's experiences in the newly developing CIA, JOHN TURTURRO does an outstanding job as a tough inquisitor and MICHAEL GAMBON is outstanding as a security risk with homosexual tendencies. ALEC BALDWIN has little to do but is intense enough as one of the agency's top men and others in the cast maintain credibility all the way through.

The story itself is rather problematic in that nothing is what it seems and not all the information is readily given to the viewer in a way that makes sense. This is partly the fault of the script and partly the fault of director Robert De Niro who also assumes a small role effectively.

But still, despite the handicap of being too long (and a bit too involved at certain points), it makes for fascinating viewing and is the kind of film you dare not divert your attention from for a moment. If you do, you are liable to miss an essential plot point.

Summing up: Highly recommended for anyone with a keen interest in espionage dramas.

I went into the theatre with little knowledge but that I was going to be watching a film about a man who was one of the founders of the CIA. Expecting this, I thought this movie was outstanding and a mind game from start to finish.

What one has to understand about the movie itself is that it is as complicated as the storyline. It starts out with two different time lines, decades apart and slowly one reaches the other. That in itself can be difficult to follow, but it is well worth the effort to pay attention because if you can leave the theatre understanding what took place, you walk away with a little more knowledge about the human complex.

Because this is a story more about the soul and our humanity than it is about spies and country. Those are just the means by which De Niro uses.

Every actor is placed remarkably well and no more so than Matt Damon himself. It is his acting that gives us Edward Wilson; a man without airs who doesn't compromise. The movie spans over twenty years and fortunately we see those years reflected in most of the characters. Angelina Jolie does the neglected, alcoholic wife superbly. William Hurt and Lee Pace as Richard Hayes both give a wonderful performance taking their character's flaws from subtle to substantial by the end.

Some might wonder how so many actors could be recruited for such small roles, like Alec Baldwin, Michael Gambon, and Joe Pesci, but one only has to see as far as the director to get their answer. Don't let the big names and the anagram CIA get you. This movie is as edgy as it is intricate with twists and turns that take the viewer through the world of trust and the human element. A man like Edward Wilson is just the perfect vessel for the journey.

The Good Shepherd fmovies. I wasn't sure that a movie like this could or would still be made and released in this country.

No, it wasn't Mission Impossible 6. It didn't have the overwhelming special effects, chases, explosions and gunfights one might expect in a spy thriller. It didn't need them. Thrilling enough was the exposition of character (imagine that). Plot? Whose real life has ever had a tight plot line? Edward Wilson's life meandered along like many do. In fact, I found it even more interesting because the turns Wilson's life took seemed dictated by his character and not just by his chosen profession.

Courageous choices were made by DeNiro in making this film, by Damon in tackling the role with such coldness and stoicism, and by Jolie in passing on being a movie star in favor of being an actress.

"The mental facility to detect conspiracies and betrayal are the same qualities most likely to corrode natural judgment." Almost every year, there is one great film that slips under my radar. I usually wait for it to hit DVD because it keeps getting passed over for other films I'd rather watch. However, when I finally get around to seeing it, I wonder to myself how I ever let it pass me by.

In 2006, that film is Robert De Niro's "The Good Shepherd". Here is a cinematic gem that hits all the right notes. It is a study in detail. It is a master-class in mood and tone and style. This movie is a fascinating character study and a riveting story of trust, loyalty and betrayal -- both personally and politically.

Edward Wilson (Matt Damon) is a gifted young man whose keen intellect and sharp observational skills soon catch the attentions of some important people. While attending Yale University, Edward is recruited into the uber-secretive college society known as the Skull and Bones. During the initiation ritual, he is asked to recount a secret that he has never before revealed -- a pledge of trust and brotherhood. He describes his father's suicide as a result of being a disgraced naval officer.

The FBI becomes aware of Edward's abilities. His encounter with a poetry professor only serves to expedite his venture into the world of espionage.

Edward's ties to that secretive community cost him his first love, Laura, a beautiful young deaf girl with a heart of gold and a pure spirit. Instead, a relationship seems forced upon him with Clover (Angelina Jolie), sister to one of his fraternity colleagues. An unplanned pregnancy rushes along the marriage plans. It becomes a loveless relationship between strangers.

The film follows Edward's life, shifting between the 1940's and the 1960's, counterbalancing the eager early loyalty with the paranoid, lonely and resentful man he becomes later in life. "The Good Shepherd" is a finite analysis of a man who knows what the important things in life are (family, love, friendship, parenting), but substitutes them for patriotism and duty -- perhaps as a way of restoring his father's honor.

What De Niro does so well is to patiently, rather microscopically, dissect Edward's life in the world of intelligence. Every detail of this man's soul is laid bare for us to see. It allows the viewer to respect and pity him at the same time. It is probably the greatest cinematic exploration of espionage ever made. We are privy to this character's very core.

Consider the multiple virtuoso sequences in which the CIA lab technicians systematically analyze a fuzzy black & white photograph in conjunction with a low grade audio tape. It is a fascinating study in detail that serves as a microcosm to the entire movie. De Niro's legendary attention to the details of his portrayed characters has quite obviously transferred to his directing. Everything of value in "The Good Shepherd" lays in the subtle moments... the momentary glances... the uncomfortable silences... the verbal hints and clues.

Also note the fabulous exchange in a covert London counter-intelligence office between Matt Damon and John Turturro. It is a fantastic exercise in screen writing, rapid rhythmic delivery and understated, yet mesmerizing, acting. It was wonderful to watch the "Rounders" duo reunite and square off with some great dialogue once again.

This may be De Niro's epic cr

Excellent.

The good shepherd is an excellent film. The reason this film was dubbed the "Godfather of spy movies" is because ala the "Godfather" De Niro uses real life situations involving the CIA and blends them together creating a story around the lead character played by Matt Damon. In addition,several great performances in character parts complement Damon's performance, notably Michael Gambon and John Turturro were both superb. You shouldn't view this film expecting to be blown out of your seats, it is deep, and requires strict attention to detail. My wife and I viewed this film in a packed movie house and we were very certain that half the people in the audience didn't understand or appreciate what they had just seen. I am not saying you need to be of great intellect to enjoy this film, but one of the things De Niro manages to do is bring back a thinking man's drama that is often not seen in today's attention deficit, shoot them up, bang – bang movies. This film makes it obvious that Directors Bertolucci and Leone have left a huge impression on De Niro and the result is a movie that both would be proud of.