Review of The Good Shepherd (2006) by Ronw. — 30 Dec 2006

Intense, cerebral, and as starkly uncompromising as its main protagonist, the film floats the viewer unsuspectingly ever deeper into an amoral jungle toward a chilling contemporary vision of the diplomatic "heart of darkness" that motivates states and the covert soldiers whose identities are as indistinguishable from each other as from those of the governments they serve.

Evoking Le Carre's rich character development and the striking visual tableaux of Coppola (whose touch is seen throughout), Shepherd takes quiet control of the viewer's emotions, drawing us into a relentless, addictive web of conspiracy that, at the end, leaves us drained and needing more.

This magnificent movie more resembles The Constant Gardner than Casino Royale, and requires an alert mind and attention to detail. When it is over, it is difficult to determine which is more brilliant, Eric Roth's screenplay, or its beautiful, calculating execution.