The Good Shepherd

The Good Shepard is the second effort from Robert De Niro as director (his first being 1993's A Bronx Tale). Combined with a talented screenwriter (Eric Roth; Munich, Ali) and an awe-inspiring cast including Matt Damon, William Hurt, Michael Gambon, John Turturro, Alec Baldwin, Angelina Jolie and even Joe Pesci in his first appearance on screen in eight long years the film announces its lofty intentions early on.

The movie opens in 1961 just after the Bay of Pigs fiasco where we meet Edward Wilson (Damon), a high ranking official of the CIA which was set up after World War 2 to do what the OSS (Office of Strategic Services) did in wartime. The movie is framed from 1961, taking us frequently back through Edwards past, from his formative years as a talented poetry undergraduate at Yale to his recruitment into the Skull and Bones secret society and then from there to working as a secret service agent for the OSS. Most of the movie is viewed through Edwards eyes, as we see his experiences working as a secret agent and the effects it has on his family, forcing him to make great personal sacrifices in order to serve his country. Damon gives another solid performance, capping off his excellent turn a few months ago in The Departed. His character Edward is the perfect spy - 'a serious S.O.B with no sense of humor' and it is his determined isolation from any real emotion that makes him so valuable to the C.I.A even if it means sacrificing his relationship with lovers, his wife and even his son.

At 167 minutes the film certainly isn't lightweight and while I never really felt the running time drag out I don't think that will be the case for everyone. It's a slow burning thriller without the frenetic pacing of other spy movies. Those going into the movie expecting massive pyrotechnicss and grandiose action sequences will be dissapointed as the movie is much more in the vein of a cold war spy novel with double crossings and cat and mouse games at every turn.

Another dissapointment is for all the big name cast half of them might not have even bothered to turn up. Joe Pesci, in his first screen role since Lethal Weapon 4 gets one scene, and it's only a couple of minutes long. Call me greedy but I wanted to see more from the guy who gave us the infamous 'Funny how?' in Goodfellas. De Niro too only gives himself a few minutes but then I don't begrudge that considering he was directing it. Angelina Jolie does an adequate job but she doesn't really have much to do either, just mope and whinge about her husband never being there (He leaves for London one week after their marriage and comes back 6 years later) At least William Hurt (on form as usual) and John Turturro (such an underrated actor) get decent supporting roles.

If you can get past the hefty running time and don't go in with the wrong expectations - (no Angelina Jolie is not going to get her kit off no matter how alluring she might be) then you will enjoy it. There are some great performances, even if some characters didn't get as much screentime as I would have liked. Overall The Good Shepherd is a decent thriller worth watching, although I wouldn't rush to the cinema to see it. Perhaps leave it for a lazy Sunday afternoon on DVD.

7/10