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Title: The Good Shepherd (2006)
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| 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 | |
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. Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>
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I had a huge advantage before watching this on DVD. I was told by a good friend that it was extremely slow, and be prepared to be bored out of "my mind." Well, I wasn't bored, maybe because I now expected a slower, non-action-packed CIA-type film....and I wasn't disappointed. Actually, I liked it, mainly because of the cinematography. This is stunning in its photography. Kudos to Director Robert De Niro and Director of Photography Robert Richardson for their work in here.
I also appreciated the low profanity in here. After watching "The Departed," this far-cleaner film was a treat for the ears, too. Yes, there are a handful of 'f-words," but not much else including no blasphemy.
But, I agree that this is a very slow film and it helps to know that in advance. It's also one you have to follow closely and time periods shift back and forth, mainly from 1961 back to the early 1940s.
The story winds up presenting an interesting question which is posed to Matt Damon's character, "Edward Wilson." He plays an extremely loyal CIA man, a guy who is straight-arrow and one whose priority is country-first. The dilemma occurs at the end when he must choose between what's best for his son or his country.
It's a thought-out, interesting story that takes a few sides to the left of center more than the right, but is not really a movie with any heavy-handed political agenda, mainly pointing out what it takes to be a successful "spy" and that this unemotional detachment can be rough on some people and their families.
Damon heads an all-star cast that includes Angeline Jolie (who looks spectacular as a woman in the early 1940s), Billy Crudup, Alec Baldwin, William Hurt, Timothy Hutton and many others.
This movie, I suspect, will either put you to sleep or fascinate you.