list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around The Good Shepherd on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/The_Good_Shepherd/255832/default.aspx Title: The Good Shepherd
Year: 2006
Director: Robert De Niro
Plot: One man bears witness to the secret history of America during the Cold War in this drama directed by celebrated actor Robert De Niro. In 1939, Edward Wilson (Matt Damon) is a young man with a bright future ahead of him -- he's a top student at Yale and the protégé of one of the school's leading English professors, Dr. Fredericks (Michael Gambon). But Wilson's life changes dramatically when he's invited to join Yale's powerful secret society, Skull and Bones. Through his Skull and Bones connections, Wilson meets Sam Murach (Alec Baldwin), an mysterious FBI agent who asks Wilson to investigate charges that Fredericks is a Nazi sympathizer working with the German government. Later, at a Skull and Bones party, Wilson is introduced to Clover Russell (Angelina Jolie), the sister of one of his classmates and the daughter of a powerful politician; their one-night stand leaves Clover pregnant, and Wilson must leave the woman he loves, Laura (Tammy Blanchard), to wed Clover and give their child a name. Shortly after their wedding, thanks to his work with Murach, Wilson is invited to join the Office of Strategic Services, a military intelligence organization organized by Bill Sullivan (Robert De Niro), and Wilson accepts. Through World War II, Wilson serves with the OSS, and learns he can trust no one in the game of international espionage, which helps make him little more than a stranger to his wife, his son, and his few friends. As the OSS evolves into the Central Intelligence Agency after the war, Wilson becomes party to America's darkest and most dangerous secrets, and in the wake of the futile Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, Wilson is forced to make a terrible choice between the security of his nation and the safety of his family. Inspired by the true-life story of CIA founder James J. Angleton, The Good Shepherd boasts an impressive supporting cast, including William Hurt, John Turturro, Billy Crudup, Joe Pesci, and Timothy Hutton. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 60
Number of Lists: 25
Number of blog posts: 13
Number of discussion threads: 2
SpoutRating: 3
]]>Mon, 24 Nov 2008 18:58:27 GMTThe Good Shepherd2006Robert De NiroOne man bears witness to the secret history of America during the Cold War in this drama directed by celebrated actor <a href="/players/P____17593/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Robert De Niro</a>. In 1939, Edward Wilson (<a href="/players/P____16762/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Matt Damon</a>) is a young man with a bright future ahead of him -- he's a top student at Yale and the protégé of one of the school's leading English professors, Dr. Fredericks (<a href="/players/P____25729/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Michael Gambon</a>). But Wilson's life changes dramatically when he's invited to join Yale's powerful secret society, Skull and Bones. Through his Skull and Bones connections, Wilson meets Sam Murach (<a href="/players/P_____3515/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Alec Baldwin</a>), an mysterious FBI agent who asks Wilson to investigate charges that Fredericks is a Nazi sympathizer working with the German government. Later, at a Skull and Bones party, Wilson is introduced to Clover Russell (<a href="/players/P____36009/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Angelina Jolie</a>), the sister of one of his classmates and the daughter of a powerful politician; their one-night stand leaves Clover pregnant, and Wilson must leave the woman he loves, Laura (<a href="/players/P___369261/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Tammy Blanchard</a>), to wed Clover and give their child a name. Shortly after their wedding, thanks to his work with Murach, Wilson is invited to join the Office of Strategic Services, a military intelligence organization organized by Bill Sullivan (<a href="/players/P____17593/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Robert De Niro</a>), and Wilson accepts. Through World War II, Wilson serves with the OSS, and learns he can trust no one in the game of international espionage, which helps make him little more than a stranger to his wife, his son, and his few friends. As the OSS evolves into the Central Intelligence Agency after the war, Wilson becomes party to America's darkest and most dangerous secrets, and in the wake of the futile Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, Wilson is forced to make a terrible choice between the security of his nation and the safety of his family. Inspired by the true-life story of CIA founder James J. Angleton, The Good Shepherd boasts an impressive supporting cast, including <a href="/players/P____34104/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>William Hurt</a>, <a href="/players/P___114771/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>John Turturro</a>, <a href="/players/P___223041/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Billy Crudup</a>, <a href="/players/P____56237/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Joe Pesci</a>, and <a href="/players/P____34188/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Timothy Hutton</a>. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide60Tag Target (>10)251323http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s255832.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/The_Good_Shepherd/255832/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/groups/FilmCouch/Re_Question_from_FilmCouch_97_Are_there_any_pur/302/37584/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: mciocco
Post To: FilmCouch
Post Date: 11/24/2008 1:58:27 PM
Body: Spy movies have definitely gotten away from the sort of glamorous travelogues that the original Bond movies kinda were. Most portray the life as being a tough, gritty one filled with betrayal, sacrifice and other depressing stuff. Even the "action" subgenre of spy films has that sort of thing (i.e. Bourne features all sorts of stuff about how being the spy eats up your life, etc...) So some examples of recent, less actiony spy flicks that you haven't mentioned in the podcast or in your post would include: Traitor (2008 - can't find it with the link to a movie tool thingy) - This is the recent movie starring Don Cheadle. There is some action and it's actually pretty cliched, but it's somewhat entertaining and it's much more focused on the psychology of terrorists than the spy aspect of it... The Good Shepherd - Again, not at all glamorous, but this seems to be a dry recounting of early CIA machinations. I didn't much care for this movie, but it's not an action oriented spy film and the one thing I did like was the sorta brinkmanship between Matt Damon's character and his Soviet counterpart. Syriana - Not glamorous and another movie I didn't particularly love, but it's got some interesting non-action spy stuff going on (mostly in the Cloony plotline - the others are not as spy oriented). It's too bad the plot is so intentionally obtuse. I got the feeling that Gaghan was attempting to play obscurity and for depth here. Three Days of the Condor - Ok, so this isn't anywhere close to recent, but it's a pretty good spy story told from a non-action-oriented standpoint. But I also agree with your inclusion of Spy Game, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, and Breach, all of which I rather enjoyed (er, more than the films I listed above) I also thought of the Tom Clancy movies (Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, and yes, even The Sum of All Fears), but those might better be characterized as action movies (still, there's an inordinate amount of non-actiony stuff in those films that kinda works well). Another that jumped to mind was Sneakers, though I'm not sure you could really characterize that as a spy film... That's all for now, but I'm positive I'm leaving something out...
]]>Mon, 24 Nov 2008 18:58:27 GMTmcioccoFilmCouch11/24/2008 1:58:27 PMSpy movies have definitely gotten away from the sort of glamorous travelogues that the original Bond movies kinda were. Most portray the life as being a tough, gritty one filled with betrayal, sacrifice and other depressing stuff. Even the "action" subgenre of spy films has that sort of thing (i.e. Bourne features all sorts of stuff about how being the spy eats up your life, etc...) So some examples of recent, less actiony spy flicks that you haven't mentioned in the podcast or in your post would include: Traitor (2008 - can't find it with the link to a movie tool thingy) - This is the recent movie starring Don Cheadle. There is some action and it's actually pretty cliched, but it's somewhat entertaining and it's much more focused on the psychology of terrorists than the spy aspect of it... The Good Shepherd - Again, not at all glamorous, but this seems to be a dry recounting of early CIA machinations. I didn't much care for this movie, but it's not an action oriented spy film and the one thing I did like was the sorta brinkmanship between Matt Damon's character and his Soviet counterpart. Syriana - Not glamorous and another movie I didn't particularly love, but it's got some interesting non-action spy stuff going on (mostly in the Cloony plotline - the others are not as spy oriented). It's too bad the plot is so intentionally obtuse. I got the feeling that Gaghan was attempting to play obscurity and for depth here. Three Days of the Condor - Ok, so this isn't anywhere close to recent, but it's a pretty good spy story told from a non-action-oriented standpoint. But I also agree with your inclusion of Spy Game, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, and Breach, all of which I rather enjoyed (er, more than the films I listed above) I also thought of the Tom Clancy movies (Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, and yes, even The Sum of All Fears), but those might better be characterized as action movies (still, there's an inordinate amount of non-actiony stuff in those films that kinda works well). Another that jumped to mind was Sneakers, though I'm not sure you could really characterize that as a spy film... That's all for now, but I'm positive I'm leaving something out... http://www.spout.com/blogs/kowalski76/archive/2008/10/12/36213.aspx Post By: Kowalski76
Post To: Rebellious Celluloid
Post Date: 10/12/2008 8:52:33 AM
Body: If De Niro had concentrated half as much on continuity and pacing than he did bringing together this stellar cast this film may have grabbed me. It's an hour too long and for a film that spans decades the cast age remarkably well. The plot and subject matter did interest me, but by the time it got to the point I didn't care any longer.
]]>Sun, 12 Oct 2008 12:52:33 GMTKowalski76Rebellious Celluloid10/12/2008 8:52:33 AMIf De Niro had concentrated half as much on continuity and pacing than he did bringing together this stellar cast this film may have grabbed me. It's an hour too long and for a film that spans decades the cast age remarkably well. The plot and subject matter did interest me, but by the time it got to the point I didn't care any longer. http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Re_Weekly_Theme_for_August_11_The_Secret_Society/625/33836/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: The_American_Dream
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 8/11/2008 8:28:32 AM
Body: Oh man! This is a good one. And for me the movie that leaps to mind is "Eyes Wide Shut", which is really one of my all time favorites. "Eyes Wide Shut" is so off the scale weird in so many ways that you would think that is was impossible,and yet, watching the movie you feel that it isn't. And really, there is so much more than that in "Eyes Wide Shut", a real masterpiece by Kubrick. Another Kubrick movie that I think fits in here would be "A Clockwork Orange" not exactly a secret society in the classic sense (calling to mind "The Good Shepherd" or "13 Tzameti") but the group of droogs have some secret society like manors. And last, a movie I saw recently; "Children of Men". There is a movie that has so many groups of both good-guys and bad-guys operating as secret societies that by the end, the ambiguity of the films ending leans on that point. I love this topic.
]]>Mon, 11 Aug 2008 12:28:32 GMTThe_American_DreamWeekly Theme8/11/2008 8:28:32 AMOh man! This is a good one. And for me the movie that leaps to mind is "Eyes Wide Shut", which is really one of my all time favorites. "Eyes Wide Shut" is so off the scale weird in so many ways that you would think that is was impossible,and yet, watching the movie you feel that it isn't. And really, there is so much more than that in "Eyes Wide Shut", a real masterpiece by Kubrick. Another Kubrick movie that I think fits in here would be "A Clockwork Orange" not exactly a secret society in the classic sense (calling to mind "The Good Shepherd" or "13 Tzameti") but the group of droogs have some secret society like manors. And last, a movie I saw recently; "Children of Men". There is a movie that has so many groups of both good-guys and bad-guys operating as secret societies that by the end, the ambiguity of the films ending leans on that point. I love this topic. http://www.spout.com/blogs/jj79/archive/2008/6/9/30954.aspx Post By: JJ79
Post To: JJ79 Blog
Post Date: 6/9/2008 1:08:04 PM
Body: Weighing in at a bloated 160 minutes, "The Good Shepherd" has all the trappings of Oscar bait: an all star cast, a legendary actor in the director's chair and a subject Oscar likes to reward more often than not. But the run time is the biggest detriment in this story about the formation of the CIA. The year is 1961 and Edward Wilson (Matt Damon) is one of the minds behind the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. When it goes disastrously wrong, a hunt begins within the government to weed out the traitor. At the same time, the actions and events which led to Wilson's present predicament are recounted, including his time at Yale and what he did during the second world war. Two hours and forty minutes is an awful long time. Sure, there are longer films out there (most notably "The Lord of the Rings" extended editions) but what separates those experiences from the one you're going to get watching "The Good Shepherd" is this is a character piece as opposed to an action movie. Whereas Viggo Mortenson and company rarely walked anywhere in the first installment of that trilogy, Matt Damon barely gets to jog, let alone do anything kinetic. When a main character is basically inanimate, the audience feels a sense of monotony and, dare I say it, boredom. The fact of the matter is this material isn't boring, per se the way it is presented makes it boring, not to mention confusing. Damon is a capable actor, as are the people that surround him (Angelina Jolie, Joe Pesci, Alec Baldwin, Billy Crudup, Robert De Niro, William Hurt, Timothy Hutton and John Turturro. They're not the problem. The problem rests with the execution of "The Good Shepherd". With crisscrossing storylines in different time periods and none of the characters particularly sympathetic, this is an overlong, though well produced, History Channel documentary. Why this story needed to be told non-linearly and expanded nearly to the point of breaking is beyond me. A straightforward story about Wilson and his life starting in his college days and working up to the 1960s would have been more than ideal. Keep all the same elements, just rearrange them so the audience doesn't have to do so much work keeping it all straight. It is mentally exhausting and, considering the running time, entirely too easy to check out of every storyline on the screen. In the end, it doesn't amount to much since each character has squandered the emotional good will of the audience. Damon's Edward Wilson is not exactly the kind of man who is particularly well liked on a personal level. In fact, he can be summed up rather succinctly in a line delivered by fellow agent Ray Brocco: "a serious son of a bitch with no sense of humor". He is a cheater, a liar, a deceiver, an accessory to murder, strictly formal with his son and dedicated to his job to the detriment of everything else. The character is flawed, but Damon's nearly stoic and even keeled performance is anything but. He has the ability to show enormous emotion and then rein it all back it after a moment. Take, for example, a scene late in the film between him and Angelina Jolie, who plays his wife. They are fighting over their son's decision to apply to the CIA. In what could very well be the only display of powerful emotion in the film, he informs her-yells, really-that he married her for their son. Either the power of the emotion or the words stops them both dead in their tracks, an invisible line having been crossed. Edward is the emotionless one in this piece Jolie, as Clover, is filled to the brim. She carries the majority of the emotional weight of the film as a wife with no connection to her husband. He doesn't love her and it's open to debate if she truly loves him or simple stays in the marriage for as long as she does because of her duty as a woman in the 1960s. With a character outside the main storyline being the heart of the picture, it's difficult to maintain interest in the mundane CIA story as opposed to the events revolving around the family. With all the time shifting and story crossing we get in "The Good Shepherd", the main idea-that of a traitor during the Bay of Pigs standoff-gets somewhat lost. It isn't until two hours into the film that we get a firm grasp of who the traitor really is. Obligatorily, the story throws in another such traitor and an accomplice to boot. Around this time, though, all the storylines converge with Wilson's son, also named Edward, and his upcoming marriage. The girl is seen on screen once, never with Edward, Jr., so any viewer can figure out her ultimate fate at least five minutes before it actually happens. Notice I did mention "traitors" a moment ago. Yes, there are two: one is unwilling, the other not so much. I have serious problems with pulling two bad guys out of the story when, in reality, we've been led to believe there was only one the entire time. The second, whom I will not reveal here, does factor into the story in the earlier timeline. However, based on this character's movements and expressions, I had him pegged for a revelation of another kind. By the time all these evil people come out of the woodwork, I can't imagine anyone really cares. The movie does what it wants without regard to the audience to the detriment of the entire production. Again, there's nothing to latch onto from an emotional standpoint, no single character to empathize with and little in the way of historical fact. This isn't a film "based on a true story" or even "inspired" by one. It's fantasy. Based on that, it can't even be called historical, so what the audience supposedly "learns" here may or may not be true. "The Good Shepherd", despite being well acted, well produced and poised to be an important film, collapses under it's own bloated running time. A judicious editor could have excised some storylines and tightened up the narrative. Shifting from one time period to another is one of the major offenders here because it allows the audience to forget or lose interest in the main story-the one we start out with, the one the film wants us to care about. All that being said, I'm still giving "The Good Shepherd" a 6 out of 10. Just know what you're getting yourself into.
]]>Mon, 09 Jun 2008 17:08:04 GMTJJ79JJ79 Blog6/9/2008 1:08:04 PMWeighing in at a bloated 160 minutes, "The Good Shepherd" has all the trappings of Oscar bait: an all star cast, a legendary actor in the director's chair and a subject Oscar likes to reward more often than not. But the run time is the biggest detriment in this story about the formation of the CIA. The year is 1961 and Edward Wilson (Matt Damon) is one of the minds behind the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. When it goes disastrously wrong, a hunt begins within the government to weed out the traitor. At the same time, the actions and events which led to Wilson's present predicament are recounted, including his time at Yale and what he did during the second world war. Two hours and forty minutes is an awful long time. Sure, there are longer films out there (most notably "The Lord of the Rings" extended editions) but what separates those experiences from the one you're going to get watching "The Good Shepherd" is this is a character piece as opposed to an action movie. Whereas Viggo Mortenson and company rarely walked anywhere in the first installment of that trilogy, Matt Damon barely gets to jog, let alone do anything kinetic. When a main character is basically inanimate, the audience feels a sense of monotony and, dare I say it, boredom. The fact of the matter is this material isn't boring, per se the way it is presented makes it boring, not to mention confusing. Damon is a capable actor, as are the people that surround him (Angelina Jolie, Joe Pesci, Alec Baldwin, Billy Crudup, Robert De Niro, William Hurt, Timothy Hutton and John Turturro. They're not the problem. The problem rests with the execution of "The Good Shepherd". With crisscrossing storylines in different time periods and none of the characters particularly sympathetic, this is an overlong, though well produced, History Channel documentary. Why this story needed to be told non-linearly and expanded nearly to the point of breaking is beyond me. A straightforward story about Wilson and his life starting in his college days and working up to the 1960s would have been more than ideal. Keep all the same elements, just rearrange them so the audience doesn't have to do so much work keeping it all straight. It is mentally exhausting and, considering the running time, entirely too easy to check out of every storyline on the screen. In the end, it doesn't amount to much since each character has squandered the emotional good will of the audience. Damon's Edward Wilson is not exactly the kind of man who is particularly well liked on a personal level. In fact, he can be summed up rather succinctly in a line delivered by fellow agent Ray Brocco: "a serious son of a bitch with no sense of humor". He is a cheater, a liar, a deceiver, an accessory to murder, strictly formal with his son and dedicated to his job to the detriment of everything else. The character is flawed, but Damon's nearly stoic and even keeled performance is anything but. He has the ability to show enormous emotion and then rein it all back it after a moment. Take, for example, a scene late in the film between him and Angelina Jolie, who plays his wife. They are fighting over their son's decision to apply to the CIA. In what could very well be the only display of powerful emotion in the film, he informs her-yells, really-that he married her for their son. Either the power of the emotion or the words stops them both dead in their tracks, an invisible line having been crossed. Edward is the emotionless one in this piece Jolie, as Clover, is filled to the brim. She carries the majority of the emotional weight of the film as a wife with no connection to her husband. He doesn't love her and it's open to debate if she truly loves him or simple stays in the marriage for as long as she does because of her duty as a woman in the 1960s. With a character outside the main storyline being the heart of the picture, it's difficult to maintain interest in the mundane CIA story as opposed to the events revolving around the family. With all the time shifting and story crossing we get in "The Good Shepherd", the main idea-that of a traitor during the Bay of Pigs standoff-gets somewhat lost. It isn't until two hours into the film that we get a firm grasp of who the traitor really is. Obligatorily, the story throws in another such traitor and an accomplice to boot. Around this time, though, all the storylines converge with Wilson's son, also named Edward, and his upcoming marriage. The girl is seen on screen once, never with Edward, Jr., so any viewer can figure out her ultimate fate at least five minutes before it actually happens. Notice I did mention "traitors" a moment ago. Yes, there are two: one is unwilling, the other not so much. I have serious problems with pulling two bad guys out of the story when, in reality, we've been led to believe there was only one the entire time. The second, whom I will not reveal here, does factor into the story in the earlier timeline. However, based on this character's movements and expressions, I had him pegged for a revelation of another kind. By the time all these evil people come out of the woodwork, I can't imagine anyone really cares. The movie does what it wants without regard to the audience to the detriment of the entire production. Again, there's nothing to latch onto from an emotional standpoint, no single character to empathize with and little in the way of historical fact. This isn't a film "based on a true story" or even "inspired" by one. It's fantasy. Based on that, it can't even be called historical, so what the audience supposedly "learns" here may or may not be true. "The Good Shepherd", despite being well acted, well produced and poised to be an important film, collapses under it's own bloated running time. A judicious editor could have excised some storylines and tightened up the narrative. Shifting from one time period to another is one of the major offenders here because it allows the audience to forget or lose interest in the main story-the one we start out with, the one the film wants us to care about. All that being said, I'm still giving "The Good Shepherd" a 6 out of 10. Just know what you're getting yourself into. http://www.spout.com/blogs/cinemarian/archive/2008/5/12/28655.aspx Post By: CinemaRian
Post To: CinemaRian Blog
Post Date: 5/12/2008 1:30:17 PM
Body: The Good Shepard is a movie about the early days of the CIA, beginning in the days just before World War II and ending in the early 60's, after the Bay of Pigs fiasco. It is the second film directed by Robert De Niro, and I think it's fair to say that he is a much better actor than director. Like his first movie, A Bronx Tale, there are some interesting moments, but both films are poorly edited and far too long, and I get the feeling that De Niro is more interested in imitating the styles of director's he's worked with (Martin Scorsese in the first, Francis Ford Coppola here), than he is developing a unique style of his own. I had thought from the realistic tone of the trailers that the movie was based on a memoir by an actual CIA agent, but the screenplay is in fact historical fiction written by Eric Roth. Edward Wilson (Matt Damon) is a Yale-educated CIA agent who is suspected as being a double agent that leaked information to Castro and allowed the US-backed Bay of Pigs invasion to become a disaster. The investigation is intercut with flashbacks to Wilson's past- an introverted guy from a rich family, he attends Yale as English student and helps an FBI agent to oust a professor with Nazi sympathies. He falls in love with a deaf girl (Tammy Blanchard) but is forced by social conventions to marry Clover (Angelina Jolie) after an affair. Soon after a dying Senator (De Niro) encourages Wilson to join a new covert intelligence agency to fight the Nazi's, and as a result he spends most of WWII in England and misses most of his son's youth. When Wilson returns to the United States he finds himself in a loveless marriage and increasing paranoia- the one maxim of intelligence is never trust anyone. This film has been compared by some to The Godfather, but the comparison is not so much because of its quality as to its origins- there are many moments, including individual shots, that are right out of Coppola's magnum opus. Look at the scene where Wilson returns home in the snow and see if it doesn't remind you of Michael Corleone doing the same in Part II. Or the arguments between Wilson and his wife that seem to play exactly like Michael and Kay's. In fact, the whole arc of the film is about the same (an essentially decent guy does the wrong thing to try to achieve good and ends up destroying his own soul). Many of the performances are similar too, Damon mostly underplays Wilson, punctuating him with sudden bursts of intense anger- to compensate De Niro surrounds him with a large number of charismatic character players. But the Coppola "influence" doesn't stop at his Mafia trilogy. Much of the movie's visual look is inspired by The Conversation- with the camera often acting as an invisible observer planted to spy on the characters. Of course, if you are going to be influenced by someone, there are not many better choices than Coppola, but the movie follows much of the director' form and style (and even some themes) while not being nearly as evocative. The movie is badly written, for one thing- all of the supporting characters make long speeches about their philosophy of life and the CIA that comes off as fake and pretentious. It's hard to get involved very much with Wilson either, he's more of a cipher than Michael Corleone and less likable. The movie has a sort of obviousness about it that it annoying and it's way to long- I confess that at the two hour mark I had to use my remote control through the movie's remaining third. I admired De Niro's ambition, but it just didn't pay off. Here's hoping he sticks to acting. The Good Shepherd (2006)
]]>Mon, 12 May 2008 17:30:17 GMTCinemaRianCinemaRian Blog5/12/2008 1:30:17 PMThe Good Shepard is a movie about the early days of the CIA, beginning in the days just before World War II and ending in the early 60's, after the Bay of Pigs fiasco. It is the second film directed by Robert De Niro, and I think it's fair to say that he is a much better actor than director. Like his first movie, A Bronx Tale, there are some interesting moments, but both films are poorly edited and far too long, and I get the feeling that De Niro is more interested in imitating the styles of director's he's worked with (Martin Scorsese in the first, Francis Ford Coppola here), than he is developing a unique style of his own. I had thought from the realistic tone of the trailers that the movie was based on a memoir by an actual CIA agent, but the screenplay is in fact historical fiction written by Eric Roth. Edward Wilson (Matt Damon) is a Yale-educated CIA agent who is suspected as being a double agent that leaked information to Castro and allowed the US-backed Bay of Pigs invasion to become a disaster. The investigation is intercut with flashbacks to Wilson's past- an introverted guy from a rich family, he attends Yale as English student and helps an FBI agent to oust a professor with Nazi sympathies. He falls in love with a deaf girl (Tammy Blanchard) but is forced by social conventions to marry Clover (Angelina Jolie) after an affair. Soon after a dying Senator (De Niro) encourages Wilson to join a new covert intelligence agency to fight the Nazi's, and as a result he spends most of WWII in England and misses most of his son's youth. When Wilson returns to the United States he finds himself in a loveless marriage and increasing paranoia- the one maxim of intelligence is never trust anyone. This film has been compared by some to The Godfather, but the comparison is not so much because of its quality as to its origins- there are many moments, including individual shots, that are right out of Coppola's magnum opus. Look at the scene where Wilson returns home in the snow and see if it doesn't remind you of Michael Corleone doing the same in Part II. Or the arguments between Wilson and his wife that seem to play exactly like Michael and Kay's. In fact, the whole arc of the film is about the same (an essentially decent guy does the wrong thing to try to achieve good and ends up destroying his own soul). Many of the performances are similar too, Damon mostly underplays Wilson, punctuating him with sudden bursts of intense anger- to compensate De Niro surrounds him with a large number of charismatic character players. But the Coppola "influence" doesn't stop at his Mafia trilogy. Much of the movie's visual look is inspired by The Conversation- with the camera often acting as an invisible observer planted to spy on the characters. Of course, if you are going to be influenced by someone, there are not many better choices than Coppola, but the movie follows much of the director' form and style (and even some themes) while not being nearly as evocative. The movie is badly written, for one thing- all of the supporting characters make long speeches about their philosophy of life and the CIA that comes off as fake and pretentious. It's hard to get involved very much with Wilson either, he's more of a cipher than Michael Corleone and less likable. The movie has a sort of obviousness about it that it annoying and it's way to long- I confess that at the two hour mark I had to use my remote control through the movie's remaining third. I admired De Niro's ambition, but it just didn't pay off. Here's hoping he sticks to acting. The Good Shepherd (2006) http://www.spout.com/blogs/jakestevens/archive/2007/10/9/20533.aspx Post By: JakeStevens
Post To: JakeStevens Blog
Post Date: 10/9/2007 12:40:05 PM
Body: This movie is for adults. REAL adults. Thinking people. People who read novels. People who like nuanced, understated performances. I almost think this film would be better off as a mini-series, as there are numerous interesting characters and plenty of time-hopping. It's a character study - you've GOT to pay attention in this one, and that's why I wanted to see this in the theater...with no one else in there to distract me. No phones ringing, no geezers coughing, no teenagers giggling or throwing popcorn because they're bored. The "action" scenes are few and far between, and the better for it, because you're not expecting it. The one gripe I have is that Matt Damon's character doesn't seem to age at all (only his spectacles change) while they went to great lengths to make all of the other characters age with make-up and prosthetics. I understand why some people wouldn't care for it - it's a slow burn.
]]>Tue, 09 Oct 2007 16:40:05 GMTJakeStevensJakeStevens Blog10/9/2007 12:40:05 PMThis movie is for adults. REAL adults. Thinking people. People who read novels. People who like nuanced, understated performances. I almost think this film would be better off as a mini-series, as there are numerous interesting characters and plenty of time-hopping. It&#39;s a character study - you&#39;ve GOT to pay attention in this one, and that&#39;s why I wanted to see this in the theater...with no one else in there to distract me. No phones ringing, no geezers coughing, no teenagers giggling or throwing popcorn because they&#39;re bored. The &quot;action&quot; scenes are few and far between, and the better for it, because you&#39;re not expecting it. The one gripe I have is that Matt Damon&#39;s character doesn&#39;t seem to age at all (only his spectacles change) while they went to great lengths to make all of the other characters age with make-up and prosthetics. I understand why some people wouldn&#39;t care for it - it&#39;s a slow burn. http://www.spout.com/blogs/makyron/archive/2007/7/25/16011.aspx Post By: makyron
Post To: makyron Blog
Post Date: 7/25/2007 8:00:58 AM
Body: I thoroughly enjoyed this film, its inexorable albeit slow pace didn't detract from the experience. It was like a big puzzle slowly coming together in front of you, and although it had a bit of a surprising climax, the ending was somehow a bit lacking, although if it had gone on any longer it would've begun to seriously drag. Worth seeing, it will challenge you to really think about what you're seeing, but not something I'd probably watch again...
]]>Wed, 25 Jul 2007 12:00:58 GMTmakyronmakyron Blog7/25/2007 8:00:58 AMI thoroughly enjoyed this film, its inexorable albeit slow pace didn&#39;t detract from the experience. It was like a big puzzle slowly coming together in front of you, and although it had a bit of a surprising climax, the ending was somehow a bit lacking, although if it had gone on any longer it would&#39;ve begun to seriously drag. Worth seeing, it will challenge you to really think about what you&#39;re seeing, but not something I&#39;d probably watch again... http://www.spout.com/blogs/kerihawkins/archive/2007/7/14/14489.aspx Post By: kerihawkins
Post To: kerihawkins Blog
Post Date: 7/14/2007 11:28:00 PM
Body: This movie was surprisingly good. I was skeptical because I am not an Angelina Jolie fan, and as always, she overacted her part, but because she's not in the film much, it was really good. Matt Damon does a good job portraying a "good shepherd" in the early days of the CIA. He does what is expected of him and pays the price over and over again in order to do what he feels is best for America. After watching this and the movie Breach (another good film), it was interesting to find out just how much the CIA is involved in everything. Although "Spy Game" is my all-time favorite CIA movie, this one deserves a close second.
]]>Sun, 15 Jul 2007 03:28:00 GMTkerihawkinskerihawkins Blog7/14/2007 11:28:00 PMThis movie was surprisingly good. I was skeptical because I am not an Angelina Jolie fan, and as always, she overacted her part, but because she&#39;s not in the film much, it was really good. Matt Damon does a good job portraying a "good shepherd" in the early days of the CIA. He does what is expected of him and pays the price over and over again in order to do what he feels is best for America. After watching this and the movie Breach (another good film), it was interesting to find out just how much the CIA is involved in everything. Although "Spy Game" is my all-time favorite CIA movie, this one deserves a close second. http://www.spout.com/blogs/dj4our/archive/2007/6/25/12057.aspx Post By: dj4our
Post To: dj4our Blog
Post Date: 6/25/2007 12:45:05 PM
Body: The Good Shepherd ***Rated R for some violence, sexuality and language.2 hr, 45 min.written by: Eric Rothproduced by: Robert DeNiro, Jane Rosenthal, & James G. Robinsondirected by: Robert DeNiroIt's taken me almost a week to write a review of this film. I couldn't really figure out how to approach writing about it. Explaining the film to people has been quite a task. It's one of those films that demands every iota of one's attention. It is a very detailed, complex, and involving film. It is more than just a movie about the formation of the CIA. It's about a solitary pursuit involving secrecy, duplicity and paranoia. Ultimately it is a troubling movie about trust and mistrust. The film is mesmerizingly paced and ambitious all while invoking the style of ";The Godfather" which doesn't seem too far off since director Robert DeNiro was directed by Francis Ford Coppola in "The Godfather Part II" who is also one of the executive producers in this film. DeNiro has made a smart, cerebral espionage thriller that captures the feel of a true spy film. I'm not gonna say to much about the film cuz I feel it's worthy of individual internalization after your own viewing. Therefore this won't be a detailed review but rather a generalized look at a intricately made film. The movie starts in 1961 as the failure during the Bay of Pigs Invasion is witnessed and a then an anonymous photograph with a reel to reel tape surfaces that leads to suspicion of an insider. Then the story jumps back to 1939 as the journey of Edward Wilson unfolds. Wilson (Matt Damon) understands the value of secrecy; discretion and commitment to honor have been embedded in him since childhood. He is an eager, optimistic student at Yale who harbors a tragic past. Shortly after his recruitment to the school's Skull and Bones secret society (a brotherhood and breeding ground for future world leaders), he is asked to spy on his mentor Dr. Fredricks (Michael Gambon) who seems to be a Nazi sympathizer. Also while studying in the library, he meets Laura (Tammy Blanchard), a deaf student whom he starts to build a natural connection. He is then is approached by FBI agent Sam Murach (Alec Baldwin) to spy on Fredricks due to the professor's alleged connections. He reluctantly does as asked out of his loyalty to his country, causing the professor to resign.In 1941 upon graduation, Wilson is approached by General Bill Sullivan (DeNiro, in a small yet important role) at a Skull and Bones meeting on Deer Island. It is there that Wilson also meets Clover (Angelina Jolie), a sister of a fellow classmate and S&B member as well as a Senator's daughter. A seemingly unlikely attraction is instigated by Clover, who seems a little off as she forces herself on Wilson. Edward is then shown on the beach with Laura, who he has been romantically involved with. Clover's brother informs Edward that his sister is pregnant and suggests that he 'do the right thing' and marry her. Edward is too late to block Laura from reading his lips, allowing her to find out the news. He does what he believes to be the right thing and marries Clover and is almost immediately sent off to England during WWII on an assignment from Sullivan, where he spends the next 6 years.While in London, he meets with British intelligence Officer Arch Cummings (Billy Crudup) and Richard Hayes (Lee Pace), a fellow S & B and classmate. He is then to be tutored in espionage by a seasoned pro, his old poetry professor, Fredricks. Edward apparently ruined 2 years of undercover work being done by his professor by his previous rookie spy work.Wilson's acute mind, spotless reputation and sincere belief in American values render him a prime candidate for a career in intelligence, and he is soon recruited to work for the OSS (the precursor to the CIA) during WWII. As one of the covert founders of the CIA, working in the heart of an organization where duplicity is required and nothing is taken at face value, As his methods are adopted as standard operating procedure, Wilson develops into one of the Agency's veteran operatives, all the while combating his KGB counterpart. However, his steely dedication to his country comes at an ever-increasing price. Not even his wife Clover or his beloved son can divert Wilson from a path that will force him to sacrifice everything in pursuit of this job. Upon his return home, Wilson's idealism is steadily eroded by a growing suspicious nature, reflective of a world settling into the long paranoia of the Cold War. He meets his son, Edward, Jr. for the first time. He gives him a ship he made and put in what looks like a glass watch casing. His wife informs him she is no longer Clover but now prefers to be called Margaret. She asks him to sleep in different beds until they get to know one another again. Six years is a long time. Sullivan approaches him to help form a foreign intelligence organization and wants Edward to work with Hayes and under Phillip Allen (William Hurt), a S&B elder.As life continues, his son grows up and his relationship with his wife continues to grow more distant. When his wife has friends over for dinner, they ask if he really works for the CIA. Edward replies that his wife has an overactive imagination and that he is just a civil servant. Jolie handles her role well as the frustrated wife closed off by a man full of secrets and paranoia.Wilson is then given an assignment interviewing a Russian named Valentin (Oleg Stefan) requesting asylum and claiming to be a high ranking official who knows Edward's counterpart in the Soviet government. Edward attends a production of The Cherry Orchard with Valentin, who claims it is a bad translation. It is at the theater that Edward runs into Laura again. They return to her house and end up sleeping together.After Margaret finds out about the affair, the dysfunctional family attends the annual S& party on Deer Island where Edward has a discussion with Hayes regarding the upcoming Bay of Pigs Invasion. His son overhears the discussion, and Edward tells his son (now a young adult) he cannot repeat what he overheard to anyone. Wilson later visits Edward Jr. at Yale. He tells his father he has been approached by the OSS agency looking for young recruits and he wants to sign up. Edward tells his son it's a difficult life and tries to talk him out of it. But Edward Jr. is adamant as he so desperately wants to be like his father since he never received the love he needed from him.After the aforementioned photograph and tape is analyzing, the CIA officials make a number of findings. The decisions Edward has to make once these findings come to a more specific reality is staggering. It ultimately forces him to choose between the safety of his country and the life of his family. Here, the movie comes full circle. We see that the character of Edward Wilson falls even deeper into his stoic, cold and detached persona that has developed throughout the story. The outcome of Wilson's choices leaves you numb and shocked but not really too surprised. The movie ends with Wilson and Hayes walking through what would eventually be the new CIA headquarters. That's exactly where DeNiro wants it. Apparently, he's has an interest in intelligence-gathering for some time and had his heart set on telling the story of the formation of the CIA for quite a while. At nearly three hours, it may feel a bit too long. I'm usually the kind of guy who can care less what kinda length a movie clocks in at. But, here because this film is initially difficult to follow (think "The Russia House", "Gorky Park" or even last year's excellent "The Constant Gardener") it had my focus derailed a coupla times. Still, the story and characters did soon grow on me and the film became more compelling despite it's dryness at times. Dense, politically-minded movies like this typically don't exactly set the box office afire, as evidenced by the recent grosses of last autumn's "The Constant Gardener" ($33 million), "Munich" ($47 million) and "Syriana" (just under $51 million). Even more comparatively, 2000's "Thirteen Days" took a direct pass at the high, inside drama of the Cuban Missile Crisis, but could only scare up $35 million theatrically. Star power doesn't necessarily sway folks who are maybe inclined to pay attention to international affairs and big-canvas political issues only every two years during an election cycle. They're frequently awards bait, yes, but these are shining examples of the types of adult movies which Hollywood generally loathes to make any more, owing to ample evidence in their difficulty to market and attract the same sort of upscale audience that, say, makes 40- to 54-years-olds the single biggest purchaser of music albums, responsible for around 20 percent of the marketplace. The cast of the film is stellar and as it should be in a movie like this, there are no grandstanding performances though. Just good actors coming in and out of a complex story circling Damon. Damon does a great job. I've liked him since his small role in "Courage Under Fire" and of course "Good Will Hunting". He displays no Jason Bourne abilities in this role as it's all internal and nuanced. His role was originally to go to Leonardo DiCaprio (who was busy filming "Blood Diamond") but I'm glad it didn't. Although it's still kinda odd seeing Damon play a father, it woulda been even moreso seeing DiCaprio play poppa. On that note, I have to mention the great performance by Eddie Redmayne as the adult Edward Wilson Jr. Other notable performances are John Turturro who works with Damon in the OSS and then there's Joe Pesci, who was last seen in 1999's "Lethal Weapon 4" playing an informant. Despite its name cast and the De Niro's return behind the camera for the first time since 1993's heralded "A Bronx Tale", this film doesn't necessarily look to be much different. Much like ";Munich" (no coincidence, given that they share screenwriter Eric Roth, who co-scripted Spielberg's movie), the film takes a complex subject or set of issues and provides an angled illumination that doesn't easily let the viewer off the hook, but rather asks significant and probing questions about what values are immutable, what compromises necessary, what means justifiable. "The Good Shepherd" isn't a nail-biter or adrenalized drama, in other words. But it does feel both accurate in detail and, more importantly and impressively, real in its enlightenment of the early Cold War struggle, and those who populated it. Edward sees himself as a product of these polarizing times - a protector of freedoms and American prerogative who nonetheless has to sometimes deal in unsavory shades of grey in order to accomplish his aims. As head of counterintelligence, his job is to penetrate enemy intelligence and alter our foes' perceptions of us from the inside out, all while the Soviet Union's KGB attempts to do the same thing to us. This tightrope act is most tautly embodied in one plot strand involving a Russian defector, Valentin Mironov (John Sessions). When another man also claiming to be Mironov eventually shows up, Edward must further reevaluate his judgments; he signs off on torturous methods, and his colleague Ray Brocco (Turturro) heads a brutal interrogation. It's here, in Damon's quietly clenched jaw and dead eyes, that you see Edward's last bit of idealism mortally wounded by the pressing needs of practicality. It's throughout "The Good Shepherd" but mostly here that you understand the jarring, no-win scenarios that men like him face on a constant basis.
]]>Mon, 25 Jun 2007 16:45:05 GMTdj4ourdj4our Blog6/25/2007 12:45:05 PMThe Good Shepherd ***Rated R for some violence, sexuality and language.2 hr, 45 min.written by: Eric Rothproduced by: Robert DeNiro, Jane Rosenthal, &amp; James G. Robinsondirected by: Robert DeNiroIt&#39;s taken me almost a week to write a review of this film. I couldn&#39;t really figure out how to approach writing about it. Explaining the film to people has been quite a task. It&#39;s one of those films that demands every iota of one&#39;s attention. It is a very detailed, complex, and involving film. It is more than just a movie about the formation of the CIA. It&#39;s about a solitary pursuit involving secrecy, duplicity and paranoia. Ultimately it is a troubling movie about trust and mistrust. The film is mesmerizingly paced and ambitious all while invoking the style of &quot;;The Godfather&quot; which doesn&#39;t seem too far off since director Robert DeNiro was directed by Francis Ford Coppola in &quot;The Godfather Part II&quot; who is also one of the executive producers in this film. DeNiro has made a smart, cerebral espionage thriller that captures the feel of a true spy film. I&#39;m not gonna say to much about the film cuz I feel it&#39;s worthy of individual internalization after your own viewing. Therefore this won&#39;t be a detailed review but rather a generalized look at a intricately made film. The movie starts in 1961 as the failure during the Bay of Pigs Invasion is witnessed and a then an anonymous photograph with a reel to reel tape surfaces that leads to suspicion of an insider. Then the story jumps back to 1939 as the journey of Edward Wilson unfolds. Wilson (Matt Damon) understands the value of secrecy; discretion and commitment to honor have been embedded in him since childhood. He is an eager, optimistic student at Yale who harbors a tragic past. Shortly after his recruitment to the school&#39;s Skull and Bones secret society (a brotherhood and breeding ground for future world leaders), he is asked to spy on his mentor Dr. Fredricks (Michael Gambon) who seems to be a Nazi sympathizer. Also while studying in the library, he meets Laura (Tammy Blanchard), a deaf student whom he starts to build a natural connection. He is then is approached by FBI agent Sam Murach (Alec Baldwin) to spy on Fredricks due to the professor&#39;s alleged connections. He reluctantly does as asked out of his loyalty to his country, causing the professor to resign.In 1941 upon graduation, Wilson is approached by General Bill Sullivan (DeNiro, in a small yet important role) at a Skull and Bones meeting on Deer Island. It is there that Wilson also meets Clover (Angelina Jolie), a sister of a fellow classmate and S&amp;B member as well as a Senator&#39;s daughter. A seemingly unlikely attraction is instigated by Clover, who seems a little off as she forces herself on Wilson. Edward is then shown on the beach with Laura, who he has been romantically involved with. Clover&#39;s brother informs Edward that his sister is pregnant and suggests that he &#39;do the right thing&#39; and marry her. Edward is too late to block Laura from reading his lips, allowing her to find out the news. He does what he believes to be the right thing and marries Clover and is almost immediately sent off to England during WWII on an assignment from Sullivan, where he spends the next 6 years.While in London, he meets with British intelligence Officer Arch Cummings (Billy Crudup) and Richard Hayes (Lee Pace), a fellow S &amp; B and classmate. He is then to be tutored in espionage by a seasoned pro, his old poetry professor, Fredricks. Edward apparently ruined 2 years of undercover work being done by his professor by his previous rookie spy work.Wilson&#39;s acute mind, spotless reputation and sincere belief in American values render him a prime candidate for a career in intelligence, and he is soon recruited to work for the OSS (the precursor to the CIA) during WWII. As one of the covert founders of the CIA, working in the heart of an organization where duplicity is required and nothing is taken at face value, As his methods are adopted as standard operating procedure, Wilson develops into one of the Agency&#39;s veteran operatives, all the while combating his KGB counterpart. However, his steely dedication to his country comes at an ever-increasing price. Not even his wife Clover or his beloved son can divert Wilson from a path that will force him to sacrifice everything in pursuit of this job. Upon his return home, Wilson&#39;s idealism is steadily eroded by a growing suspicious nature, reflective of a world settling into the long paranoia of the Cold War. He meets his son, Edward, Jr. for the first time. He gives him a ship he made and put in what looks like a glass watch casing. His wife informs him she is no longer Clover but now prefers to be called Margaret. She asks him to sleep in different beds until they get to know one another again. Six years is a long time. Sullivan approaches him to help form a foreign intelligence organization and wants Edward to work with Hayes and under Phillip Allen (William Hurt), a S&amp;B elder.As life continues, his son grows up and his relationship with his wife continues to grow more distant. When his wife has friends over for dinner, they ask if he really works for the CIA. Edward replies that his wife has an overactive imagination and that he is just a civil servant. Jolie handles her role well as the frustrated wife closed off by a man full of secrets and paranoia.Wilson is then given an assignment interviewing a Russian named Valentin (Oleg Stefan) requesting asylum and claiming to be a high ranking official who knows Edward&#39;s counterpart in the Soviet government. Edward attends a production of The Cherry Orchard with Valentin, who claims it is a bad translation. It is at the theater that Edward runs into Laura again. They return to her house and end up sleeping together.After Margaret finds out about the affair, the dysfunctional family attends the annual S&amp; party on Deer Island where Edward has a discussion with Hayes regarding the upcoming Bay of Pigs Invasion. His son overhears the discussion, and Edward tells his son (now a young adult) he cannot repeat what he overheard to anyone. Wilson later visits Edward Jr. at Yale. He tells his father he has been approached by the OSS agency looking for young recruits and he wants to sign up. Edward tells his son it&#39;s a difficult life and tries to talk him out of it. But Edward Jr. is adamant as he so desperately wants to be like his father since he never received the love he needed from him.After the aforementioned photograph and tape is analyzing, the CIA officials make a number of findings. The decisions Edward has to make once these findings come to a more specific reality is staggering. It ultimately forces him to choose between the safety of his country and the life of his family. Here, the movie comes full circle. We see that the character of Edward Wilson falls even deeper into his stoic, cold and detached persona that has developed throughout the story. The outcome of Wilson&#39;s choices leaves you numb and shocked but not really too surprised. The movie ends with Wilson and Hayes walking through what would eventually be the new CIA headquarters. That&#39;s exactly where DeNiro wants it. Apparently, he&#39;s has an interest in intelligence-gathering for some time and had his heart set on telling the story of the formation of the CIA for quite a while. At nearly three hours, it may feel a bit too long. I&#39;m usually the kind of guy who can care less what kinda length a movie clocks in at. But, here because this film is initially difficult to follow (think &quot;The Russia House&quot;, &quot;Gorky Park&quot; or even last year&#39;s excellent &quot;The Constant Gardener&quot;) it had my focus derailed a coupla times. Still, the story and characters did soon grow on me and the film became more compelling despite it&#39;s dryness at times. Dense, politically-minded movies like this typically don&#39;t exactly set the box office afire, as evidenced by the recent grosses of last autumn&#39;s &quot;The Constant Gardener&quot; ($33 million), &quot;Munich&quot; ($47 million) and &quot;Syriana&quot; (just under $51 million). Even more comparatively, 2000&#39;s &quot;Thirteen Days&quot; took a direct pass at the high, inside drama of the Cuban Missile Crisis, but could only scare up $35 million theatrically. Star power doesn&#39;t necessarily sway folks who are maybe inclined to pay attention to international affairs and big-canvas political issues only every two years during an election cycle. They&#39;re frequently awards bait, yes, but these are shining examples of the types of adult movies which Hollywood generally loathes to make any more, owing to ample evidence in their difficulty to market and attract the same sort of upscale audience that, say, makes 40- to 54-years-olds the single biggest purchaser of music albums, responsible for around 20 percent of the marketplace. The cast of the film is stellar and as it should be in a movie like this, there are no grandstanding performances though. Just good actors coming in and out of a complex story circling Damon. Damon does a great job. I&#39;ve liked him since his small role in &quot;Courage Under Fire&quot; and of course &quot;Good Will Hunting&quot;. He displays no Jason Bourne abilities in this role as it&#39;s all internal and nuanced. His role was originally to go to Leonardo DiCaprio (who was busy filming &quot;Blood Diamond&quot;) but I&#39;m glad it didn&#39;t. Although it&#39;s still kinda odd seeing Damon play a father, it woulda been even moreso seeing DiCaprio play poppa. On that note, I have to mention the great performance by Eddie Redmayne as the adult Edward Wilson Jr. Other notable performances are John Turturro who works with Damon in the OSS and then there&#39;s Joe Pesci, who was last seen in 1999&#39;s &quot;Lethal Weapon 4&quot; playing an informant. Despite its name cast and the De Niro&#39;s return behind the camera for the first time since 1993&#39;s heralded &quot;A Bronx Tale&quot;, this film doesn&#39;t necessarily look to be much different. Much like &quot;;Munich&quot; (no coincidence, given that they share screenwriter Eric Roth, who co-scripted Spielberg&#39;s movie), the film takes a complex subject or set of issues and provides an angled illumination that doesn&#39;t easily let the viewer off the hook, but rather asks significant and probing questions about what values are immutable, what compromises necessary, what means justifiable. &quot;The Good Shepherd&quot; isn&#39;t a nail-biter or adrenalized drama, in other words. But it does feel both accurate in detail and, more importantly and impressively, real in its enlightenment of the early Cold War struggle, and those who populated it. Edward sees himself as a product of these polarizing times - a protector of freedoms and American prerogative who nonetheless has to sometimes deal in unsavory shades of grey in order to accomplish his aims. As head of counterintelligence, his job is to penetrate enemy intelligence and alter our foes&#39; perceptions of us from the inside out, all while the Soviet Union&#39;s KGB attempts to do the same thing to us. This tightrope act is most tautly embodied in one plot strand involving a Russian defector, Valentin Mironov (John Sessions). When another man also claiming to be Mironov eventually shows up, Edward must further reevaluate his judgments; he signs off on torturous methods, and his colleague Ray Brocco (Turturro) heads a brutal interrogation. It&#39;s here, in Damon&#39;s quietly clenched jaw and dead eyes, that you see Edward&#39;s last bit of idealism mortally wounded by the pressing needs of practicality. It&#39;s throughout &quot;The Good Shepherd&quot; but mostly here that you understand the jarring, no-win scenarios that men like him face on a constant basis. http://www.spout.com/blogs/vhsparrow/archive/2007/6/22/11698.aspx Post By: vhsparrow
Post To: vhsparrow Blog
Post Date: 6/22/2007 1:03:00 PM
Body: The length and pedigree of Robert DeNiro’s ‘The Good Shepherd‘ (167 minutes), seems tobe a self-conscious effort to create a Godfather-like epic for the WASP-Intelligence set. With Matt Damon in the lead as a fictionalized version of CIA co-founder James Jesus Angleton, it would have, more properly been executed as a tightly edited 2-hour feature and saved the ‘Director’s Cut’ extravaganza for DVD. The structure of the thing, with its multiple flashbacks and interleaved storylines - personal and Global Politik - by ‘Munich‘ writer Eric Roth - does the audience no favors, as the first hour cuts back and forth between Washington D.C., Berlin, London, WWII, the Bay of Pigs and some African insurgency some-when, some where. So, the CIA was founded 50 years ago by a bunch of Yalie, Skull-and-Crossbones, antisemitic, racist, white guys (and - I couldn’t help but reflect, only 6 years to decimate, by one of their ‘own’). I’m no expert on efficient screenwriting, but it seems to me that much of this film’s domestic drama could have been elided, condensed or eliminated. It is patently absurd that a debutante as incandescent as Angelina Jolie would have to use pregnancy and emotional blackmail to land any up-and-coming Federal bureaucrat, but there it was, the first casting effort that might have been better considered. Ms. Jolie’s screen-presence and her off-screen identity served this role poorly. If the faux Mrs. Angleton was a marriage-climber, they ought to have hired a B- or C-list actress for the role and not fully emancipated Hollywood royalty like Ms. Jolie. Some clinger or half-failed actress like Gretchen Mol, Cameron Diaz or Connie Nielsen might have been a better fit for the role (and made a greater Academy™ impact). Angelina just has too much bling to become the withering wife of an Intelligence bureaucrat, though it is difficult to imagine that they hadn’t yet created the now-cliché Embassy-cover for Intelligence Officers back in the ’50’s. That glamorous life alone would have kept Damon’s family together and kept Ms. Jolie from moving to Arizona(!) to be with her Mum. White Guys: Casting Alec Baldwin, William Hurt, Billy Crudup, John Tuturro and Joe Pesci in your movie is a triumph, but distributing all of them into small character roles is a misfortune, especially when you need good actors to fill-in your ‘villain’ roles. John Sessions, Mark Ivanir and Oleg Stefan each look too similar (to each other and other actors) to register differences between the characters they play, which created other problems in following the story. Perhaps Damon’s character ought to have had his opposite, Soviet Number a bit more tightly condensed. I’m all for giving unknowns a spot in big, high-profile features, but when they all show up onscreen in a short period of time, they start to blur and merge. This is a point of attention that ought to have been addressed by either the writer or director – the complexity of ‘Shepherd’ would have been easier to appreciate as a novel but the length of the thing falls a little flat on the big screen. *** out of *****
]]>Fri, 22 Jun 2007 17:03:00 GMTvhsparrowvhsparrow Blog6/22/2007 1:03:00 PMThe length and pedigree of Robert DeNiro&rsquo;s &lsquo;The Good Shepherd&lsquo; (167 minutes), seems tobe a self-conscious effort to create a Godfather-like epic for the WASP-Intelligence set. With Matt Damon in the lead as a fictionalized version of CIA co-founder James Jesus Angleton, it would have, more properly been executed as a tightly edited 2-hour feature and saved the &lsquo;Director&rsquo;s Cut&rsquo; extravaganza for DVD. The structure of the thing, with its multiple flashbacks and interleaved storylines - personal and Global Politik - by &lsquo;Munich&lsquo; writer Eric Roth - does the audience no favors, as the first hour cuts back and forth between Washington D.C., Berlin, London, WWII, the Bay of Pigs and some African insurgency some-when, some where. So, the CIA was founded 50 years ago by a bunch of Yalie, Skull-and-Crossbones, antisemitic, racist, white guys (and - I couldn&rsquo;t help but reflect, only 6 years to decimate, by one of their &lsquo;own&rsquo;). I&rsquo;m no expert on efficient screenwriting, but it seems to me that much of this film&rsquo;s domestic drama could have been elided, condensed or eliminated. It is patently absurd that a debutante as incandescent as Angelina Jolie would have to use pregnancy and emotional blackmail to land any up-and-coming Federal bureaucrat, but there it was, the first casting effort that might have been better considered. Ms. Jolie&rsquo;s screen-presence and her off-screen identity served this role poorly. If the faux Mrs. Angleton was a marriage-climber, they ought to have hired a B- or C-list actress for the role and not fully emancipated Hollywood royalty like Ms. Jolie. Some clinger or half-failed actress like Gretchen Mol, Cameron Diaz or Connie Nielsen might have been a better fit for the role (and made a greater Academy&trade; impact). Angelina just has too much bling to become the withering wife of an Intelligence bureaucrat, though it is difficult to imagine that they hadn&rsquo;t yet created the now-clich&eacute; Embassy-cover for Intelligence Officers back in the &rsquo;50&rsquo;s. That glamorous life alone would have kept Damon&rsquo;s family together and kept Ms. Jolie from moving to Arizona(!) to be with her Mum. White Guys: Casting Alec Baldwin, William Hurt, Billy Crudup, John Tuturro and Joe Pesci in your movie is a triumph, but distributing all of them into small character roles is a misfortune, especially when you need good actors to fill-in your &lsquo;villain&rsquo; roles. John Sessions, Mark Ivanir and Oleg Stefan each look too similar (to each other and other actors) to register differences between the characters they play, which created other problems in following the story. Perhaps Damon&rsquo;s character ought to have had his opposite, Soviet Number a bit more tightly condensed. I&rsquo;m all for giving unknowns a spot in big, high-profile features, but when they all show up onscreen in a short period of time, they start to blur and merge. This is a point of attention that ought to have been addressed by either the writer or director &ndash; the complexity of &lsquo;Shepherd&rsquo; would have been easier to appreciate as a novel but the length of the thing falls a little flat on the big screen. *** out of ***** http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/murder/MemberTagFilms.aspxmurder
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