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Review #346 of 365
Movie Review of The Good Shepherd (2006) [R] 160 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $14.00
Where Viewed: United Artists Denver Pavilions Stadium 15, Denver, CO
When 1st Seen: 23 December 2006
Time: 10:40 p.m.
Film's Official Website
DVD Release Date: unscheduled
Directed by: Robert De Niro(A Bronx Tale)
Written by: Eric Roth (Munich)
Featured Cast http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif(Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Matt Damon (The Departed) • Angelina Jolie (Mr. & Mrs. Smith) • Alec Baldwin (Running with Scissors) • Tammy Blanchard (Stealing Harvard) • Billy Crudup (Mission: Impossible III) • Robert De Niro (Hide and Seek) • Keir Dullea (Alien Hunter) • Michael Gambon (The Omen) • William Hurt (Syriana) • Timothy Hutton (Last Holiday) • Lee Pace (Infamous) • Joe Pesci (Lethal Weapon 4) • Eddie Redmayne (Like Minds)
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word or less review of this film]
Meticulously plotted, with complex portrayals of multi-faceted characters, and given ample running time to develop the story, what has been billed as the a film about the birth of the C.I.A. is more honestly about the emergence of a fervently driven, patriotically motivated, intensely loyal mentality within the mind of one man whose principles then spill over in the formation of the founding ideals of one of the world's most secretive spy agencies. The startling and embarrassing failure of the C.I.A.'s handling of the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 serves as the starting point of the film; yet, for the film, the event catalyzes the end of the story of Yale Skull and Crossbones secret society member Edward Wilson's (Matt Damon) nearly 30-year reign in the USA intelligence industry. Flashbacks, then reveal the early, privileged childhood of a young Edward who discovers his father's body just after his suicide and whose instincts tell him to hide the note and report to others the death was, instead, accidental, through his years at Yale, drag performance as Buttercup in HMS Pinafore, curiously thorny relationship with professor and Nazi sympathizer Professor Fredericks (Michael Gambon), and induction into the aforementioned, ultra-secret, Skull and Crossbones society and birthplace of future captains of science & industry, politicians, and presidents, through his marriage to a school chum's sister, Margaret "Clover" Russell (Angelina Jolie), the birth of his beloved son Edward, Jr. (Tommy Nelson [ages 6-7], Eddie Redmayne [adult]), his recruitment from Yale to serve the in interests of a new USA governmental foreign intelligence agency as a member of the OSS in Britain during WWII, his return to meet his 5-year old son for the first time, and his subsequent years as a member of the newly founded Central Intelligence Agency. Along the way, we see the catch phrase "trust no one" emerge as one of Edward's guiding principles handed down to him by the founding director of the OSS, General Bill Sullivan (Robert De Niro). Moreover, we witness the consumption, deterioration, and eventual collapse of Edward's personal life caused by his professional life. This means the splintering of his relationship with Clover and estrangement from his son countered later by his son's desire to join the Agency himself to acquire approval and love from his father. The lengthy film achieves its lofty goals of illustrating the personal costs and heavy price of the life of an agent of the C.I.A. convincingly through painstakingly filmed and written scenes from the Eric Roth screenplay and the direction of cast member and co-producer, legendary actor, Robert De Niro.
"…incredibly potent yet occasionally painfully-detailed…highly intelligent, historically…relevant and well acted and directed, The Good Shepherd, is close but not quite there."
According to press notes, Mr. De Niro became so fascinated with the birth of the C.I.A. and the men involved, feeling it would serve as fertile ground for a feature film, that he spent a great deal of time over the past 10 years researching the early history of the agency, traveling the world, interviewing people, and meeting with a family members of previous agents to learn the impacts their service had on their spousal relationships. Upon receipt of Eric Roth's script written about an earlier time in the C.I.A's history, he felt that they could work together to create a story pulling from actual events in history and weaving the best of both their ideas into one compelling concept. While taking over a decade to reach the screen, the events of 9/11 moved the work of the USA's intelligence agencies to the forefront of the public awareness and motivated the green-lighting of the film by the studios. The resulting film is an Academy Award®-quality production with a diverse, yet all-star cast (even Joe Pesci was coaxed back to the screen after a long period of inactivity in film), an incredibly potent yet occasionally excruciatingly-detailed screenplay filled with covert language and understatement, and a crew brimming with award winners all working tirelessly to create a truly memorable and momentous film. The film is not for everyone. This is not a 007, gadget-filled, debonair spy film. These spies are real guys engaged in double speak and misdirection. They work to understand their counterparts in the ranks of the enemy just as much as they do to intercept information, plant false or misleading information of their own, and help to make the government secure from enemies of the state. Theirs is not a glamorous job, and the price their careers exact represents a hefty one. Worse, while they must maintain extreme loyalty to the Agency and the USA, they can never be certain whom out there they themselves can trust.
The central focus of the film, outside of the history lesson in cold war espionage, is this transformation of Edward. For success in this, Matt Damon had to reach back into his Talented Mr. Ripley days and pull out another intensely complex and brooding character living a lifetime of guilt and denial. Unfortunately, try as he might, the result, unlike his incredible portrayals of Tom Ripley and Will Hunting for that matter, is a protagonist in Edward Wilson with whom audiences will be incapable of connecting emotionally. While that might be fine with Edward Wilson, the character, because his is so introspective and emotionally detached, it results in a highly traumatic sense of near indifference that evolves in ones feelings toward him, his choices, and his family. Sympathizing with his wife and son comes far more readily. Instead, Edward's emergence as an intensely loyal, government agent whose dedication to his country, while noble, seems shallow never gives the sense he is in this, ultimately, to make the nation safer for his own family. This, therefore, intensifies the cavernous, vacuous feeling of the film. In contrast, as the film shares so much with Eric Roth's nominated Munich of last year, my pick as best picture of the year, and still the only film to ever receive a W.I.P. Scale™ value of $15 at movieEVERYday.com, Eric Bana was able to achieve the connection between his character, his motivations, loyalty to principles and family, while playing a murderous assassin which is exactly why Munich was worthy of Best Picture of the year, while The Good Shepherd, though highly intelligent, historically just as relevant, well acted and directed, is about $1 away from being quite as good.
The central focus of the film, outside of the history lesson in cold war espionage, is this transformation of Edward. For success in this, Matt Damon had to reach back into his Talented Mr. Ripley days and pull out another intensely complex and brooding character living a lifetime of guilt and denial. Unfortunately, try as he might, the result, unlike his incredible portrayals of Tom Ripley and Will Hunting for that matter, is a protagonist in Edward Wilson with whom audiences will be incapable of connecting emotionally. While that might be fine with Edward Wilson, the character, because his is so introspective and emotionally detached, it results in a highly traumatic sense of near indifference that evolves in ones feelings toward him, his choices, and his family. Sympathizing with his wife and son comes far more readily. Instead, Edward's emergence as an intensely loyal, government agent whose dedication to his country, while noble, seems shallow never gives the sense he is in this, ultimately, to make the nation safer for his own family. This, therefore, intensifies the cavernous, vacuous feeling of the film. In contrast, as the film shares so much with Eric Roth's nominated Munich of last year, my pick as best picture of the year, and still the only film to ever receive a W.I.P. Scale™ value of $15 at movieEVERYday.com, Eric Bana was able to achieve the connection between his character, his motivations, loyalty to principles and family, while playing a murderous assassin which is exactly why Munich was worthy of Best Picture of the year, while The Good Shepherd, though highly intelligent, historically just as relevant, well acted and directed, is about $1 away from being quite as good.
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Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
Other Projects Featuring The Good Shepherd (2006)
Cast Members
Matt Damon
• Angelina Jolie • Alec BaldwinTammy Blanchard
• Billy Crudup • Robert De NiroKeir Dullea
• Michael Gambon • Martina GedeckWilliam Hurt
• Timothy Hutton • Mark IvanirGabriel Macht
• Lee Pace • Joe PesciEddie Redmayne
Director
Robert De Niro
Writer
Eric Roth
| DVD |
The Good Sheperd (2006) Review-lite [150-word cap]
Meticulously plotted, with complex portrayals of multi-faceted characters, and given ample running time to develop the story, what has been billed as the a film about the birth of the C.I.A. focuses on the emergence of an intensely loyal mentality within the mind of one man whose principles then spill over in the formation of the founding ideals of one of the world's most secretive spy agencies. Flashbacks reveal the pre-C.I.A. life of Edward Wilson (Matt Damon) who discovers his father's body just after his suicide, graduates Yale, marries his best friends sister in a shotgun wedding, becomes an OSS operative in England pre-WWII, and ultimately sacrifices is all for his allegiance to the nation instead of the love of his family. Director Robert De Niro has proven himself a capable director with the only flaw being a lack of formative, emotional connection between Edward, the protagonist, and the audience.
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