"Someone once asked me, "Why don't they put a 'the' in front of CIA?" And I said to him, "do you put a 'the' in front of God?""

Rating: 7/10 (1 March 2007)

Robert De Niro's second directional effort - after 1993's 'A Bronx Tale' - is a deliberately paced, brooding and haunting glimpse at one man's life throughout the early years of the United State's counter intelligence agency, the CIA. Edward Wilson (Matt Damon, 'The Bourne Identity') begins his campaign, young and proud, wanting to "save the world". However, as he is forced to live a bitter lie year after year, a gulf develops between him and those he cares about. This is a story of true patriotism, and how it is never as glorious and inspiring as we are often led to believe.
We first come across Wilson in the cold, somber days of 1961. He moves slowly, eyes constantly cast downwards at the dampened concrete. From the bright, colourful, enthusiastic young man we will later witness in flashback, Wilson has been reduced to an empty vessel. He dutifully follows his daily routine, but he is now less of a man. For the good of his country, he has sacrificed his own life. In his younger years, Wilson was warned to "get out while you still can... while you still have a soul." The man who said this was brutally murdered just seconds later, and dumped into an icy river.
Not a film for the impatient, 'The Good Shepherd' is a beautiful glimpse into the very heart of a troubled CIA founder, at times evoking comparisons with such classics as 'The Godfather.' It perhaps moves a bit slow at times, but there are films where a jumbled combination of quick-cuts and fast pacing just doesn't work  this, most certainly, is one of them.
The acting from a stellar ensemble cast is generally very good. Matt Damon is perfect in the main role, though I did notice that, over the 30 year or so time period, he appeared to age extremely little. I've heard from somewhere that it was De Niro's deliberate decision not to significantly age Damon's character with make-up, though I'm still wondering what the possible reason for this choice could have been. Angelina Jolie is adequate enough as Wilson's wife in an unloving marriage, though I noticed that some of her acting did appear strained in some of the more dramatic scenes. Notable supporting roles and cameos also come from Alec Baldwin (as Sam Murach, an FBI agent), Michael Gambon (as Dr. Fredericks, Wilson's literature lecturer in college who is suspected to have Nazi connections), William Hurt (as Philip Allen, a superior at the CIA), Joe Pesci (lured from an agonising eight-year film hiatus) and De Niro himself as General Bill Sullivan, who, with his health rapidly failing him, actually establishes the Central Intelligence Agency.
Though advertised quite blatantly as a true story, the film itself is only based very loosely on actual events. Damon's character, Edward Wilson, is modelled upon James Jesus Angleton, a long-serving chief of the CIA's counter-intelligence staff, and Richard Mervin Bissell, Jr., another American intelligence officer. Let us not, however, delve too deeply into facts, because that would only detract from what is otherwise a masterfully-crafted, emotionally affecting film.