Review of The Good Shepherd (2006) by Christianz. — 31 Dec 2006

This is a film that, despite its flaws, you will find yourself mulling over long after its over. Damon is outstanding, giving a great mature performance that puts Good Will Hunting far behind him. In fact the entire cast to a man was teriffic.

As for the ladies, well, few are featured. Jolie, one my least favorite actresses, actually is underused here. Her scenes where she shows her skills are too few. As for the plot of the film, well, like others who wrote here, there were moments where I was perplexed by a few scenes, even if they were masterfully handled in and of themselves.

What was needed? Certainly tighter editing which would have allowed us to focus on two or three plot points instead of what seemed to be ten going on here. I love intricate, complex films that force me think and pay attention closely, but let me follow through on one thought before going somewhere else! Put it this way, it's like when your team marches down the football field and with two seconds left throws a wobbler into the end zone and there's a dispute about whether the player was in or out of bounds.

Instead of carefully considering it, the ref just says the guy was out and walks away, leaving you confused and shocked.