Not easy to digest but almost worth the time spent watching it

Rating: 7/10 (12 August 2007)

Not the all out spectacular must-see movie of the year 2006 and I was sort of disappointed because my hopes were so high when I heard that Robert De Niro was finally making a directorial sophomore effort. His debut as a director was the surprise of the year '93. Of course, it was a gangster film which was in danger of receiving undue negative comparison to the works of his mentor, Martin Scorsese, but De Niro made the wise decision to make the movie more like a fable than a hard edged drama like the works of Scorsese. If anyone hasn't guessed which movie I am talking about here it is: The totally brilliant A Bronx Tale.
It's not that De Niro may have taken a project that was over his head but The Good Shepherd tries to be more ambitious than it really needs to be. It is obvious that facts were heavily researched but making a story that says that trust in Intelligence is very hard to come by and choosing country above anything else can be a lonely existence and then use a rather muddled narrative with about 50 flashbacks and forwards, is too much to swallow for the average movie goer.
De Niro has a first rate cast but this time he uses them very awkwardly. Even such a talented actor like John Turturro, who almost never seems boring is completely wasted here. And Damon, what can you say. His character is such a shadowy figure that when he is finally put in a terrible dilemma, we don't much care anymore.
Sorry, De Niro but I can't say that I enjoyed watching this as much as it almost gave me headaches trying to follow what was happening. Maybe that was the idea but it is in my opinion not a very good one.