Review of The Good Shepherd (2006) by Tjw. — 12 Feb 2007
Robert De Niro's follow up to his directorial debut A Bronx Tale tells the story of the birth of the CIA through the eyes of Edward Wilson. Wilson is a composite of a couple of the men who are thought to have started the CIA.
The story cuts between Wilson's early years during World War II to his involvement in the Bay Of Pigs Invasion. De Niro creates an absolutely captivating world that, if you have the patience, completely sucks you in.
The acting in this film is absolutely top-notch. Damon gives a performance just as good as his job in The Departed, as the unbelievably stoic Wilson. Nothing gets to his character, even when he is "forced" to do despicable things.
Turturro is great as Wilson's assistant, who does some truly terrible things because he is "following orders." Billy Crudup is great as Wilson's British counterpart, and Michael Gambon is especially intriguing as Wilson's mentor.
A couple cameos (De Niro and Joe Pesci) round out a nearly flawless cast. Jolie is strangely stale here, and every time she was on-screen I was kind of hoping she would be gone. De Niro is a great filmmaker, and, while there are a few scenes that could easily have stayed on the cutting room floor, (this may have been a perfect movie at under 2 1/2 hours) this is still proof that De Niro, despite over thirty years in the business, is just getting started.
This review of The Good Shepherd (2006) was written by Tjw. on 12 Feb 2007.
The Good Shepherd has generally received positive reviews.
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