THE GOOD SHEPHERD

(15, 167 mins)

Thriller.

Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Eddie Redmayne, Robert De Niro, Billy Crudup, John Sessions, John Turturro, Michael Gambon, William Hurt, Joe Pesci, Alec Baldwin.

SWEARING
SEX
VIOLENCE

Robert De Niro steps behind the camera - and briefly in front of it - for this political thriller about the birth of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).


The Good Shepherd is a meticulously crafted history lesson - and an overlong one at that - written by Eric Roth, that provides a fascinating insight into the fraught period of intelligence and counterintelligence during the Cold War.

Events are refracted through the weary eyes of softly spoken Yale graduate Edward Wilson (Damon), who is recruited to join the secret Skull and Bones brotherhood, before enlisting in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the precursor to the CIA, under the aegis of General Bill Sullivan (De Niro).

We first meet Edward in April 1961, shortly before the Bay Of Pigs invasion, designed to spark the overthrow of Fidel Castro and his government. The mission is a disaster.


"They knew where to find us," laments Wilson’s assistant Ray Brocco (Turturro). "There’s a stranger in our home, sir."

The ripple effect of the botched invasion is felt throughout the corridors of power in Washington D.C., and Wilson’s head is on the block.

"Somebody on your desk gave away the story," growls FBI agent Sam Murach (Baldwin), who recruited Wilson to the service.

"There’s going to be an extensive house cleaning on your side of the street," he warns.

"Be careful - your name is on a ‘must worry’ list. Right at the very top."

As the hunt begins for the traitor in the CIA’s midst, De Niro’s film rewinds to 1939, fleshing out Edward’s formative years, which are dominated by his father’s final words: "Don’t ever lie to your friends or they will never trust you. And you will have nothing. And you will never be safe."


Coerced into marrying his friend’s sister, Margaret (Jolie), Wilson invests all of his time in his work at the expenses of personal relationships, straining the bond with his son, Edward Jr. (Redmayne).


The price of Wilson’s unwavering loyalty tests his resolve and courage to its limit, and our patience too.


The characters in The Good Shepherd would be proud of the De Niro’s attention to detail, allowing each narrative twist to unfurl in its own good time.


Art direction is impressive, elegantly recreating the era of paranoia and subterfuge.

Unfortunately, the ponderous pacing becomes a serious problem in the film’s middle bloated section, which abandons discord in the marital home to consider Wilson’s relationship with his English professor, Dr Fredericks (Gambon), who warns him: "Get out while you still can Edward, while you still have a soul."


Damon’s intense, internalised lead performance consumes the film and leaves little room for Jolie, who never gets beneath the skin of her embittered wife.

"You leave at five, you’re home at ten, seven days a week…" Margaret rages at her enigmatic husband, "I don’t know anything about you."

She has a point.

Rating: 7.5/10