Good. Merely good.

Rating: 7/10 (23 December 2006)

Short and sweet should have been Robert DeNiro's motto while making "The Good Shepherd". He managed to get top performances out of his A-list cast that complement the film, his facts on the beginnings of the CIA are incredible, and, most of all, his screenplay, written by Eric Roth, is nothing short of brilliant.
DeNiro is used to epic movies that span long periods of time and draw extensive character portraits. I think back to The Godfather II, Once Upon A Time In America and Goodfellas (among others). He learned from the master, Martin Scorsese.
"The Good Shepherd" is an epic film. It spans more than 20 years and follows the lives of many characters, never overlooking any detail about them. Matt Damon's character Edward Wilson was taught by his father never to lie or lose face to his friends, or else he won't be respected. He then kills himself. Edward hears the gunshot. So, it comes as no surprise that Edward remains cold, hard and impenetrable throughout the entire film.
I cannot say enough about the screenplay. Nothing is forgotten. A predominant theme in the movie is weakness. Everyone has at least one, for example, for an ex-soviet soldier turned cold warrior, it is the cold and for a CIA man, it is his homosexuality. Edward doesn't want to have any but does have one: Laura. He is truly in love with her. In fact, most of the few times he smiles in the film, it is with her. But as soon as he learns that she is his weakness, he coldly lets her go. Weaknesses destroy many people during the film and they resurfacing in this shadowy world.
There is also Edward's son, who appears to be a weakness of his, but he learns to be dispassionate about everything, and overcomes his weaknesses. He is probably the ultimate CIA agent because he sees them in other people and appears not to have any himself.
The screenplay does an admirable job at connecting everything. Edward's neglected son, Edward Jr., yearned most of his young life to be appreciated by his father. His psychology is just as fragile when he grows up, and longs just the same for his father's approval. This even leads to a heartbreaking moment near the end that fuels the film at the same time as it reinforces the nature of Edward Wilson.
That said, as much as this project looks great on paper, the transformation of it to the screen is not as admirable. The world in "The Good Shepherd" is a cold and dark world which DeNiro darkens and makes colder. He populates them with shady people and shady locations. However, the movie is too long. This makes it hard to keep up with all the goings-on: KGB, CIA, Cuba... As the movie goes on, we lose the feel for the atmosphere and the characters that just keep coming.
I saw this film twice and drew the conclusion that it is not so much about remembering all the names of all the people and who's working for who and all that, but about the feelings we get. Don't get me wrong, this is a great thriller. The beginning of the movie is great because DeNiro introduces us slowly to this shady world. The codes they use ("tie your shoes" and "there's a stranger in my house"), the promise of cool things to come all seduce us. But, about midway through, things just get too plain. There's nothing exciting. The stuff in this part of the movie are interesting, but as far as entertainment value goes, it doesn't match the first half.
"The Good Shepherd" will undoubtedly be nominated for many academy awards, mainly, best original screenplay. But it just didn't hit it for me. Seeing the previews for this movie, I was expecting more. I was a little disappointed. Nonetheless, go see this movie, it is well worth it. "The Good Shepherd" is an intelligent, good looking thriller. It just isn't concise.