The Good Shepherd (2006)

The tumultuous early history of the Central Intelligence Agency is viewed through the prism of one man's life.

Director:

Robert De Niro

Writer:

Eric Roth

Stars:

Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Alec Baldwin

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matt Damon	...	Edward Wilson
Angelina Jolie	...	Margaret 'Clover' Russell
Alec Baldwin	...	Sam Murach
Tammy Blanchard	...	Laura
Billy Crudup	...	Arch Cummings
Robert De Niro	...	Bill Sullivan
Keir Dullea	...	Senator John Russell, Sr.
Michael Gambon	...	Dr. Fredericks
Martina Gedeck	...	Hanna Schiller
William Hurt	...	Philip Allen
Timothy Hutton	...	Thomas Wilson
Mark Ivanir	...	Valentin Mironov #2
Gabriel Macht	...	John Russell, Jr.
Lee Pace	...	Richard Hayes
Joe Pesci	...	Joseph Palmi

Storyline

Laconic and self-contained, Edward Wilson heads CIA covert operations during the Bay of Pigs. The agency suspects that Castro was tipped, so Wilson looks for the leak. As he investigates, he recalls, in a series of flashbacks, his father's death, student days at Yale (poetry; Skull and Bones), recruitment into the fledgling OSS, truncated affairs, a shotgun marriage, cutting his teeth on spy craft in London, distance from his son, the emergence of the Cold War, and relationships with agency, British, and Soviet counterparts. We watch his idealism give way to something else: disclosing the nature of that something else is at the heart of the film's narration as he closes in on the leak.

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Plot Keywords:

cold war | student | o.s.s. | cia | bay of pigs | 

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Taglines:

The untold story of the most powerful covert agency in the world.

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Genres:

Drama | History | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence, sexuality and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Russia] Universal [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish Russian German Lingala

Release Date:

22 December 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

El buen pastor

Filming Locations:

49-51 Chambers Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$90,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£629,863 (UK) (23 February 2007)

Gross:

£1,709,530 (UK) (9 March 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Morgan Creek Productions, Tribeca Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

167 min 139 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

William Hurt's character, Phillip Allen, is partly based on Allen Dulles, OSS operative and later CIA director during the Bay of Pigs invasion. Contrary to common belief President Kennedy was fascinated with the world of espionage and unconventional warfare, granting the US Special Forces their trademark Green Berets whilst his enthusiasm for the James Bond novels helped to popularize them. However during the CIA's Pay of Pigs operation he refused to allow overt military support for the mission and severely limited the number of air strikes allowed to be flown by the CIA's own aircraft for fear of revealing the US government's role. Both decisions are widely considered to have doomed the entire enterprise to failure from the start. Ironically, Allan Dulles was appointed to the Warren Commission investigating the assassination of President Kennedy, Dulles' former boss. Kennedy had fired Allan Dulles as head of the CIA.

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Goofs

During their rendezvous in the early 1960s, Wilson and Laura are shown emerging from the "Old Dominion Tavern," implying they are in Northern Virginia. At the time, Virginia liquor laws specifically banned the use of the word "tavern" in the name of any alcohol-selling establishment.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Miriam: You are safe here with me.

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Crazy Credits

The end credits feature the dedication "In memory of Gretchen Rau".

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Connections

Referenced in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Episode #7.90 (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Salve Regina"
Written by Arvo Pärt
Performed by Polyphony - chorus, Stephen Layton - conductor, Christopher Bowers Broadbent - organ
Courtesy of Hyperion Records Limited

User Reviews

Finally a film that doesn't assume you're an idiot

After enduring trailer after trailer with endless stings of explosions, ridiculous CG-assisted stunts and mindless action, I felt very rewarded with an intelligent and intriguing film that defies the status quo of bigger and louder is better.

The Good Sheperd doesn't insult your intelligence, it stimulates it, sometimes confuses it, and forces you to look several layers beneath the surface. It feels like a throwback to another era of films when the complexity of a character was of greater importance than spectacle.

De Niro took a page from his producer's best work, Francis Ford Coppola, emulating films like The Godfather, The Conversation and Apacalypse Now. The drama rises not from the usual blatant conventional devices but rather by raising questions because of what we're not told and not shown. It requires a great deal of courage to use this style as films have gravitated more and more toward assuming the average moviegoer is of substandard intelligence. The scope of the film is enormous, yet the point of view is narrowly focused to be seen through the eyes of one man. There are a dozen of subplots, but all are carefully tied into the through-line of the story to match the main character's progression.

The film may require some understanding of American history from WWII through the Kennedy administration. It starts with the later years of the story, The Bay of Pigs debacle, and traces the steps that lead to it, one of the more embarrassing moments in the history of U.S. foreign policy. I found it a bit annoying that Matt Damon's character, Edward Wilson, barely seemed to age in the film while others around him did (the best way to determine his age is whether he's wearing wire-rimmed or horn-rimmed glasses), but it didn't ruin the film for me.

Overall though, definitely one of the best films of 2006. A rare film that makes you want to think and understand, rather than forget.