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, Robert De Niro

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 11 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.

---

Plot Keywords:

cia | santa claus character | espionage | reference to nikita khrushchev | o.s.s. | 

---

Taglines:

The true story of the birth of the CIA through the eyes of a man who never existed.

---

Genres:

Drama | History | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence, sexuality and language

Details

Official Sites:

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:

Potomac River, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$90,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$14,142,760, 24 December 2006

Gross USA:

$59,952,835

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$99,480,480

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Morgan Creek Entertainment, 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

Edward Wilson (Matt Damon) is partly based upon the founder of the C.I.A.'s counterintelligence operations, James Jesus Angleton.

---

Goofs

The scenes in war-time London show the characters walking outside at night under working street-lights, but London's streetlights were not turned on during war-time, in order to make it more difficult for German bombers to locate their targets.

---

Quotes

[from trailer]
Bill Sullivan: You understand that whatever we discuss here doesn't leave this room?
Edward Wilson: Of course.
Bill Sullivan: The President has asked me to look into creating a foreign intelligence agency.

---

Connections

Referenced in The Middleman: The Palindrome Reversal Palindrome (2008)

---

Soundtracks

Embraceable You
Written by George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin

User Reviews

Remarkable

I wasn't sure that a movie like this could or would still be made and released in this country.

No, it wasn't Mission Impossible 6. It didn't have the overwhelming special effects, chases, explosions and gunfights one might expect in a spy thriller. It didn't need them. Thrilling enough was the exposition of character (imagine that). Plot? Whose real life has ever had a tight plot line? Edward Wilson's life meandered along like many do. In fact, I found it even more interesting because the turns Wilson's life took seemed dictated by his character and not just by his chosen profession.

Courageous choices were made by DeNiro in making this film, by Damon in tackling the role with such coldness and stoicism, and by Jolie in passing on being a movie star in favor of being an actress.