The Best Spy Film Since The Spy Who Came In From The Cold

Rating: 10/10 (24 April 2007)

Not since 1965's classic The Spy Who Came In From The Cold has a spy film taken on the murky world of Cold War espionage in such a realistic fashion. The Good Shepherd takes the potentially boring story of the founding of the CIA and turns it into one of the compelling dramas you will ever see. Thanks especially to great writing and terrific acting, this film makes history come alive.
The film's two leads, Matt Damon (Edward Wilson) and Angelina Jolie (Wilson's wife Clover), have both been involved in more action driven spy thrillers. This film gives them the chance to flex their terrific acting mussels. Damon is an engaging actor and he becomes Edward Wilson. He is both hero and villain throughout the film and one watches as the young idealist becomes a hard cold warrior. He fits into the world of the film so well that at times one could forget you are looking at an actor. Jolie is the emotionally torn wife who, in her words "lives with a ghost" and the film is, in my mind at least, at least as much about her journey through the times as Edward's.
Behind them is a strong supporting cast who make way too many brief appearances. William Hurt's Philip Allen is the mentor of sorts to Edward and he is not as he seems. The same is true for Arch Cummings, played excellently by Billy Crudup, and the defector played by John Sessions. On top of them are the virtual cameos by Alec Baldwin, Robert De Niro, Timothy Hutton, and Joe Pesci. Each of them tells an important part of the story though and without them the film would not be the same. And then there is Eddie Redmayne, who plays the son of Edward Wilson. His performance is stand-out and I suspect there may be a future for this guy.
The writing is a ture masterpiece. While the film is certainly not a documentary (there are numerous factual errors of dates) is does make the past come alive. Many of the scenes and techniques are based on real events and techniques used by the CIA. The history of the CIA's founding and early years from its beginnings in Yale's Skull and Bones through the WWII organization of the OSS and all the way to the disaster at the Bay of Pigs is full of a lot of facts that could have bogged down any film. Yet Eric Roth's script does exactly the opposite. Whiel loaded with facts, the script never loses site of the human drama unfolding in the midst of the events. Not to mention so many excellent pieces of dialouge used in the film including one of my favorite lines:
"You're the guys that scare me. You're the people that make big wars."
"No, we make sure the wars are small ones."
The rest of the film's production values are excellent as well. The sets are amazing and the use of real locations helps out immensily as well. The music score is at times haunting and never fails to hit the right emotional cord. Then there is the excellent cinematography by Robert Richardson. The film is a visual masterpiece on its own without either the acting or script to back it. Director Deniro brings power to the screen and even in what might be an otherwise boring moment our attention is rivited to the screen.
To be honest I am surprised by the lack of attention given to this film by an of the major awards. The Good Shepherd is the best spy film in more then four decades (the last one being of course 1965's The Spy Who Came In From The Cold) and that is saying something. This is not only a history lesson, it is a study of those who keep us safe and the price they pay for it. If there is anyone who doubts both the power of espionage and the price one pays for it this is a film they must see.
Don't miss this film.