The Good Shepherd

The Good Shepherd (Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, John Turturro, Michael Gambon, William Hurt Robert De Niro, Alec Baldwin) – I’ve been disappointed by highly anticipated films before, and this one ranks right up there.  Robert De Niro waited all these years to direct a movie, and he does it at a pace that is painfully slow, like torture. And speaking of torture, this is a spy movie at its heart, but there’s little spying and a lot character study.  In fact, the only time the movie seems to have pace is when the identity of a real Russian spy is in question, leading to a torture scene that features the best actor in the movie, John Turturro, who plays the CIA lieutenant to Matt Damon. The movie has its origins in World War II as America anticipates entering the war and assists the British by using its fledgling spy capabilities in the OSS.  Fruitful recruiting of agents comes from the secret Skull and Bones Society at Yale (whose future members would include a Bush or two and a Kerry).  The character study is of the fiercely expressionless Edward Wilson, played by Damon.  His childhood is shaped by his father’s suicide and his love of country.  That leads to the inevitable compromises that spies apparently face of putting country before family and secrets at the center of their lives and loves.  Locked in a loveless marriage (his wife is played boringly by Angelina Jolie) and distant from his son, Wilson finds his passion in protecting his nation.  The son becomes just like him – conservative, respectful, and wanting to be like dad – and eventually chooses to join the OSS’s successor, the Central Intelligence Agency.  As Damon rises to become the “heart of the CIA,” he is forced to make trade-off after trade-off, which leads to the climax of the movie.  But, by the time the two hours and 40 minutes are over, it’s more of a yawn than a surprise. As a director, De Niro is a great actor who doesn’t even direct himself very well in ostensibly a cameo role.  The film isn’t awful, but it’s also not an Oscar contender, and the pace is absolutely plodding with few changes of pace and not enough intrigue.