Official Synopsis
The story of the birth of counter-intelligence in the CIA as told through the life of Edward Wilson. From his beginnings at Yale and the secret Skull and Bones society to his service during WWII and the height of the Cold War, Wilson's life is defined by secrecy, paranoia, and the slow destruction of his personal life in the name of national security.
Cast & Crew
- Director: Robert De Niro
- Edward Wilson: Matt Damon
- Clover Wilson: Angelina Jolie
- Ray Brocco: John Turturro
- Bill Sullivan: Robert De Niro
- Sam Murach: Alec Baldwin
- Richard Hayes: Lee Pace
- Arch Cummings: Billy Crudup
- Music: Bruce Fowler
- Writer: Eric Roth
Impressive Art, Emotional Distance
There is a massive amount to admire in Robert De Niro’s ambitious sophomore directorial effort. Featuring strong, confident direction and world-class production design, The Good Shepherd attempts to tell the story of the CIA’s birth through the eyes of the icy Edward Wilson. It is a mature, demanding piece of art, but looking back, it remains a film that feels perhaps too distant and too cold for an audience to fully embrace.
The "spy stuff" is undeniably cool, the code names, the intelligence gathering, and the fascinations of the Skull and Bones society are handled with admirable artistry. De Niro assembles the film like a giant jigsaw puzzle, eschewing conventional narrative for a series of time jumps and flashbacks. However, the film struggles when it pivots to Wilson’s family life. It’s hard to sympathize with a man who chooses this life of self-sacrifice, and the attempt to build an emotional hook through his neglected family feels somewhat forced and melodramatic compared to the clinical precision of the espionage scenes.
While Matt Damon is effective in his restrained performance, the real standout remains John Turturro as Ray Brocco. His portrayal of the strong-willed, loyal "pit bull" doing the dirty work is the film’s most memorable turn. Ultimately, The Good Shepherd feels like a story that wanted to be a twelve-episode HBO series. It is too much for even a 167-minute runtime, ending up as an impressive, intellectual history lesson that just lacks that final emotional anchor to tie the puzzle together.
Official Trailer
🕵️ Intelligence Files
- The Real Wilson: The character is largely based on James Jesus Angleton, the legendary and notoriously paranoid head of CIA Counterintelligence from 1954 to 1975.
- Long Development: The script was originally intended for Francis Ford Coppola to direct in the 1990s before De Niro took over the project.
- The Cut: The original assembly cut of the film was over four hours long. Many of the scenes featuring Wilson's son (Eddie Redmayne) were trimmed for the theatrical release.
- The Title: The title is a biblical reference, but in the context of the film, it refers to the agency's role in "guarding" the American people, often through morally gray methods.
FILE NO: ARCHIVE_2006_ENTRY
There's a lot to like in Robert DeNiro's ambitious sophomore directorial effort. The film features solid acting, strong, confident direction, and impressive production design. But in the end, the story in The Good Shepard, perhaps feels too distant, and too cold for an audience to fully embrace. What we are left with is a piece of impressive looking art, but unfortunately nothing emotionally involving or moving to make it remarkable. The film attempts to tell the story of the birth of the Central Intelligence Agency through the eyes of Edward Wilson. Who according to IMDB is probably based on the life of James Jesus Angleton, the head of counterintelligence at the C.I.A. The film traces his journey from his humble beginnings as a poetry student at Yale, through his initiation into the Skull and Bones secret society. Which then puts him on the path towards foreign intelligence gathering during World War II. The story then shifts to the rise of the Agency during the cold war, and all the way through the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba. If that's not enough, in between all that, the film also attempts to show the strain, and devastating effects that this lifestyle has on Edward's personal, and family life. Ambitious. It's a lot on DeNiro's plate, and he almost pulls it off. Almost. But it's just too much. Even for a 2 and a half hour movie. Any one of the multiple issues, and events tackled in the film can be a whole movie in itself. The story to me feels like it wants to be a twelve episode H.B.O. television series. It's just too much, too quickly, for me the film ends up feeling like a cliff notes history lesson. But at times Eric Roth's script really hits the right notes, and DeNiro's direction almost pulls it all off. He directs with a confidence, and artistry which is admirable. Specifically.....the spy stuff is really cool. The code names, the secrecy, the training, the intelligence gathering, the back door deals, and the torture methods employed by the agency, that's all cool to watch. What's great about the film is that DeNiro doesn't bother telling the movie in a conventional manner. He uses flashbacks, a huge cast of characters, and time jumps throughout the film to assemble parts of Edward's life much like a fascinating jigsaw puzzle. What's also interesting is that there doesn't seem to be a political agenda for the film. Which is unusual considering the material. DeNiro seems content with just telling a story. Actually there seems to be no conventional antagonist in the film. Just situations that characters respond to differently, sometimes in negative or what some would consider evil ways. Perhaps the strongest political statement in the film is how ridiculous the Skull and Bones society is. It's obvious that the filmmakers have a disdain for the initiation rituals and unusual camaraderie of the group. Several jokes by Angelina Jolie's character really drive that point in. But overall, the film makes no judgements. I guess one can look at that as a negative for the film. It's not a text book conventional well-made film. But I found it refreshing that he treated the audience in this manner. It's mature and demanding material that is treated with thought, and consideration rather than conventions. In a way, this way of storytelling justifies how a simple person can get swept up and caught in this sort of living. My problems with the film arise with the examination of Edward's family life. If one is looking for a marker, for me the film takes a down turn with the arrival of Angelina Jolie's character. Not that she's bad in the film. She's actually pretty good. But for me the character's storyline is not really effective. To begin with, the character of Edward is cold, and distant. He's not affable, or even very sympathetic, and the audience seems to accept him that way. But when the characters of Edward's wife, and family are thrown into the story. We are expected to sympathize with his struggles, and the plight of the family. It just doesn't happen. The truth is it's hard to sympathize with someone who chooses this life path. I mean what do they think they are signing up for when they choose this profession? Fun and parties? The title of the film in itself implies that the lifestyle of a C.I.A. agent is one of self sacrifice. So it feels forced and melodramatic to the story to try, and build sympathy for the characters in this way. It almost feels like Eric Roth and DeNiro were well aware that the story is not emotionally involving. So they attempted to compensate by showing us Edward's family life. To try and reel us in. It's obvious that the story needed an emotional hook. But for me, I would've liked to see them try, and find a different way. A family neglected, and destroyed by a man's extraordinary profession is not exactly original stuff. It's material that we've seen before, and done better in movies like Donnie Brasco, the Godfather, Goodfellas, and countless other films. As far as performances, everyone involved is on their "A" game. Damon is effective in a restrained performance. William Hurt, Alec Baldwin, Billy Crudup, and Michael Gambon turn in their usual complex and multi-dimensional performances. But for my money the most memorable character, and performance is John Turturro's Ray Brocco who is Damon's hard nosed and loyal assistant. He's strong willed, effective and willing to do the dirty work in order to help Damon's character achieve his goals. It seems in order to become a successful and powerful person, there is always a pit bull like this in one's corner to do the dirty work. It's a wonderful character, one could almost do a whole movie just on this character. But a lot of the movie feels that way. It's a fascinating and intriguing world we're watching in the film. I just wish that they could have found that one emotional hook to tie it all together."An impressive looking piece of art that lacks an emotional anchor."
No comments:
Post a Comment