Review of The Good Shepherd (2006) by Angel M — 08 Dec 2008

Some outstanding moments but sometimes too subtle in the delivery. I re-watched several scenes to catch the minute details. De Niro shows moments of real artistry--something he hasn't done with his acting in a long while.

But some poor editing is evident, and too many characters without clear motivation. The ambiguities are probably a necessary reflection of what it meant to be a spy back then. Superb character study and a complex story arc that held my attention.

The bonus scenes in the extras were helpful in filling some of the missing narrative, but even without them, the film works well. The critics were flat out wrong about this one.