Review of Good Shepherd, The

Introduction

The Central Intelligence Agency, better known by its acronym C.I.A., is known and feared across the world as arguably the most prominent and best funded spy agency. `The Good Shepherd` concentrates on the birth and growth of the agency, seen through the eyes of Edward Wilson (Matt Damon) who was recruited to the Office of Strategic Services, which President Truman subsequently dissolved to form the C.I.A. in 1947.

Opening in 1961 with some grainy footage of a couple in bed, the C.I.A. is investigating what went wrong in the Bay of Pigs debacle and the probability that the man in the film made the location of the invasion known to the female Russian spy with whom he is sleeping. Directing this investigation is Edward Wilson, now a high ranking C.I.A. operative.

The film jumps back to the 1930s when, as a brilliant poetry student at Yale, Wilson joins the notoriously secret and influential `Skull and Bones Society` and is asked to spy on his thesis tutor (Michael Gambon), who was suspected of having Nazi sympathies. He subsequently joins `The Company` where he is posted to London during the Second World War to work against the Nazis; at the end of the war, he becomes responsible for securing the services of Nazi scientists in return for safe passages to the US, where they would be involved in nuclear research and rocket technology. A button-down and reserved man, Wilson left his pregnant wife Clover (Angelina Jolie) safe in the US whilst he was in London during the Blitz.

Wilson is intimately involved in the Cold War and an intense battle of wits with the Soviet Union, especially a man he knows only by his code name `Ulysses`. Taught to trust nobody and to put his country before everything else, Wilson rises through the ranks and becomes a skilled spymaster. The film moves between 1960/1 and back to the rise of Wilson and the C.I.A. with the grainy footage central to the story so the viewer becomes involved in Wilson`s career and family and what part the footage plays.

Video

The anamorphic 2.40:1 transfer is spotless and showcases Robert Richardson`s fine cinematography. The production design and costumes are first rate, accurately reflecting the time and place; London especially looks spot on, due to the location filming.

The film was spoilt by the paranoiacs at the studio who burnt in `Property of Universal International Entertainment` so it would appear across the middle of the screen for 30 seconds every 10 minutes. I am aware of intellectual property and copyright laws - I don`t need to be reminded of them every 10 minutes while I`m trying to enjoy and review a film.

Audio

Predominantly dialogue driven, the soundtrack is beautifully presented in DD 5.1 with the surrounds used sparingly, though effectively.

Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks are available in English, Spanish and German with subtitles in those languages and Bulgarian.

Features

The only supplementary material is a collection of deleted scenes which is a bit of a disappointment - a documentary on the C.I.A. would have been welcome, as would a commentary, but given how notoriously publicity shy and quietly spoken Robert De Niro is, it`s not surprising that he didn`t provide one.

Conclusion

Widely regarded as one of, if not the best, screen actors ever, Robert De Niro has only previously directed one picture, the 1993 crime drama `A Bronx Tale`. Moving away from such familiar territory was a risky move, especially considering that `The Good Shepherd` is such a complex and lengthy project with a huge cast and a time frame that spans over 30 years.

As in `A Bronx Tale`, De Niro appears in front of the camera although this time not as a lead, but in a supporting role albeit an important one in which he impresses. The cast is uniformly excellent, with the talent on show including John Turturro, Alec Baldwin, William Hurt, Keir Dullea, John Sessions, Billy Crudup and Michael Gambon. De Niro appears to have no problem in handling a cast of this quality and size and eliciting such fine performances from the whole ensemble. The sole exception is Angelina Jolie, whose performance lacks depth and plausibility.

Matt Damon, as in `The Departed` and `The Talented Mr Ripley`, is at his best playing a man with a double life, who needs to be in control of his emotions at all times. Wilson chooses his words carefully, to the point where everyone including Ulysses sees him as "the quiet type" and it is perhaps no coincidence that Wilson is dating a deaf woman before he is pressured to marry Clover.

Perhaps intentionally to mirror today`s `War on Terror`, there is a scene in which a Russian is being interrogated with mind altering drugs and an early form of `waterboarding`, which echoes the reported treatment of `enemy combatants` at C.I.A. detention centres.

`The Good Shepherd` is a long film at 160 minutes which is at times a little ponderous, (with Wilson`s domestic scenes far less interesting than the espionage based ones) and one that requires attention as there are multiple plots and sub-plots. That said, it is a rewarding experience and one that shows that De Niro has life beyond acting; this film aside, he hasn`t made a notable movie for over 15 years. It`s a real shame that the package is so bare bones as a second disc with documentaries, a making of and interviews would practically make this a `must buy` DVD, but it is a film definitely worth a look.