People will watch this film because of the stellar cast

Rating: 7/10 (12 March 2007)

Robert de Niro stars in, produces and directs The Good Shepherd, a story based on the life of the founder of the CIA's counterintelligence operations, James Jesus Angelton (Edward Wilson in the story).
People will watch this film because of the stellar cast: Matt Damon plays Wilson and Angelina Jolie plays his long-suffering wife Margaret. Robert de Niro, Billy Crudup, Joe Pesci, William Hurt and Alec Baldwin give ample supporting roles. While Jolie believably ages through the story, Damon doesn't seem to age at all; however, he remains as quiet and stony-faced as his character.
While the cast generally delivers on the acting front, the movie needs sharper editing; it runs on too long. The exposition sometimes has sparks of brilliance but overall it can be tedious.
Also, the situations can be quite ridiculous. I find it unbelievable for Wilson to be forced to marry Angelina Jolie (hello!). Also, with their genes, how could they have borne such a stupid and ugly son (bad casting!)? How he is able to become a powerful veteran operative was also not satisfactorily shown; it is just narrated and taken as fact. He shows dedication but not passion; it seems he has no reason to stay on at his job if he is so detached from everything, even from his son whom he claims to love.
The movie ends abruptly, despite the length; there seems to be no justification in the end.