Review of The Good Shepherd (2006) by Filipeneto — 22 Aug 2021

As the Bible says, the good shepherd knows his sheep and jealously guards them. This is precisely what the CIA is trying to do, and what the protagonist of this film tried to do, despite having completely forgotten about his personal life, which gradually crumbles as time goes on and missions demand more and more of him. Robert De Niro is a remarkable actor, but I didn't know him as a director for the simple fact that he only directed two films (this one and one other). Even so, I recognize his ability. It's not a perfect film, it lacks a sense of rhythm and the editing could have been more ambitious. But I liked what I saw.

The script is very good and tells the story of Edward Wilson, a brilliant young man, graduated from the best academies, with a sharp mind, a quiet personality and extraordinarily discreet and silent. Due to all these characteristics, he was recruited for Military Intelligence in the most intense years of World War II, later passing to the CIA, an organization that is in its beginnings and that will be decisive in the following years, during the Cold War. He's good at what he does, he's becoming more and more important within the Secret Service. However, his personal life is different: stuck in a personal code of honor, he abandons his love to marry a woman he doesn't know, but who is pregnant by him. Years later, he assumes great relevance in the failed Bay of Pigs. Being the target of his superiors' suspicions, he goes to the whistleblower who compromised the operation.

The film tells an excellent story, but there are points less well executed: the first is the notion of the passage of time: we are not able to understand very well what happens in the 1940s and what happens afterwards, in the 1950s and 1960s. There is a lack of elements that help us to notice these temporal advances and setbacks, and Damon's expressionless face, always equal, doesn't help either, as if the character were incapable of aging. Another problem I felt is the slow pace, with inexplicably long scenes. Too many minutes could have been cut off on the editing table.

Matt Damon is a good actor and gets an excellent job in this film, somewhat counterpointing the strong and charismatic action characters that the actor played at that point in his career, as in the "Bourne" franchise and in "The Departed". Here, he's discreet, reserved and silent, and he can really handle the film practically on his own. The rest of the cast only appears when they need it, but the strength of De Niro and Damon must have been enough to call the cast a huge roster of renowned stars, with firm credits and previous work with one, the other or both actors: Alec Baldwin, Joe Pesci, Michael Gambon, William Hurt, John Sessions, Eddie Redmayne, Oleg Stefan and Tammy Blanchard, just to name a few actors that appear in this film, even if it's only for a couple of good scenes. Everyone is giving their contribution, however modest, always in an honorable way. The one who seems a little out of place is Angelina Jolie. She has more than a couple of good scenes, but seems to be trying her hardest to stand out and get attention. I may be misjudging, but that's what I felt as I watched her work.

Technically, it's a contained film, which leaves the narrative and the actors all the space they need to get our attention. There are no flashy effects or devices to distract or keep us entertained when the plot stumbles, because it doesn't. We have a confident cinematography, in which the demanding De Niro showed that he has a sense of framing and knows how to demand the best from the camera. It is a sharp film, with a good balance of colors and light, good depth and contrast. The sets and costumes are very good, but there are few elements that help us to realize the passage of time. There is not much use of visual, special or sound effects, but what was used has quality.