The tumultuous early history of the Central Intelligence Agency is viewed through the prism of one man's life.
Commendably serious and engrossing epic focusing on the origins & criminal activities of the 'CIA', as seen through the eyes of obedient operative Edward Wilson (an excellent Matt Damon). Going back and forth in time over a 22-year period, director /actor Robert De Niro successfully manages to organise Eric Roth's potentially problematic narrative into an articulate, coherent and visually impressive opus. De Niro's directorial prowess in terms of scene structure / depth-of-field is second-to-none (loved the newsreel to scene transitions) and though this is a million miles away from his debut 'A Bronx Tale' (1993), he makes a mistake by trying to tell the story in an impartial manner, for such subjects are partisan battlegrounds built upon inflexible ideologies / very specific geo-political aims. And though his lassie faire approach allows the viewer to make up their own mind, it also takes the sting out of some of the indictments whilst shadowboxing with issues that demand to be bought out into the open: its as if De Niro, like his protagonist, is struggling to balance patriotism with integrity, yet failing to realise that the former has no purpose without the latter. Matt Damon is on top form as the troubled, humourless spy, though one can't help but question his character's sexual preferences; deciding as he does to spend more time with dusty hacks than with hot wife Angelina Jolie (who also puts in an excellent performance). Everyone brings their A-game to the picture including co-stars Alec Baldwin, Michael Gambon, Joe Pesci (memorable in his one and only scene), Billy Crudup and even Brit comedian John Sessions (I wonder if De Niro ever saw 'Stella Street'?) Great acting saves this picture from becoming a drag, for its laboured pace, methodical realism and the fact that it covers such a long period of time, requires a lot of patience from the viewer.
Eric Roth, though a superb screenwriter, seems fond of taking historical liberties; one recalls his infamous omission of the Moroccan waiters murder by Israeli death squads in 'Munich' and here, his script makes questionable use of dramatic license; even going so far as to suggest that North America's failed 'Bay Of Pigs' invasion of Cuba via air-strikes, exiles and mercenaries, wasn't due to the indefatigability of the Cuban people in their struggle against U.S. imperialism, but thanks to some loose talk between-the-sheets. Some of the more unexpected twists involve the fate of Damon's son's bride-to-be and the manner in which it's executed, the German secretary with a hearing aid (deafness seems to be an underlying theme) and an extremely well-crafted, Hitchcockian red herring that's stretched throughout the whole film. Conspicuous by their absence are some of the CIA's most widely documented, and successful, conspiracies from the era, namely 'Operation Paperclip', 1945 (conceived by alleged Nazi sympathisers / CIA co-founders Dulles & Kissinger) 'Operation Ajax', 1953 which successfully deposed Iran's democratically elected president and installed The Shah's brutal, 20 year dictatorship. Zionist U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson's leaked phone call sanctioning the deadly bombing of the anchored & manned 'U.S.S. Liberty' by Israeli fighter jets disguised as the Egyptian air-force, would've made for an incredible subplot, De Niro could have got a lot of material out the above, and though Roth may've wanted to focus on the Cold war elements of the story, I would expect a duo of such high calibre to consider how including these events would've enhanced the scope of their story. The fact that Israeli terror, Zionism, Islamic fundamentalism or U.S. meddling in the Middle East isn't even mentioned, makes the picture seem dated in terms of highlighting the ramifications of the agency's existence and deeds. Everyone whose anyone in the spy game gets a few minutes of screen time: English MI6 agents are portrayed as smug, ashen-faced conmen whilst the Russians are heavy accented bear-like chess players, though ultimately, the entire enterprise is shown up as an unsavoury, wretched cabal of sad men-in-raincoats who never grew up (The fact that we see Damon on stage in drag belting out a number from 'H.M.S. Pinafore' only serves to confirm the man-child angle). Transferring their boyhood fantasies of secret handshakes, gangs & violent games coupled with an inability to differentiae camaraderie from homosexuality, to the altogether deadlier forum of real life; where the guns are real and people die horrible, often unnecessary, deaths; the first being the sacrifice of a spy's soul. The antithesis of those cringe-worthy 'Alias' themed 'CIA' recruitment videos fronted by Jennifer Garner, 'The Good Shepherd' may just fall short of being a fully-fledged masterpiece, but its easily one of the finest spy films of the last decade. Dry but rewarding.
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Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play. In the life of a young CIA agent during the Cold War, his dedication to work costs him his innocence, his soul and his connection to family, particularly his young son. Actors Robert De Niro, Matt Damon & Angelina Jolie Director Robert De Niro Robert De Niro Certificate 15 years and over Year 2006 Screen Widescreen 2.40:1 Anamorphic Languages English Additional Languages English SDH ; German ; Spanish Japanese ; Brazilian Portuguese ; Cantonese ; Czech ; Korean ; Latin American Spanish ; Thai ; Traditional Mandarin Subtitles English for the hearing impaired Closed Captions Yes Duration 2 hours and 47 minutes (approx)
The story of the birth of the CIA told with a glittering cast of Hollywood's finest and directed by Robert De Niro. Edward Bell Wilson (Matt Damon) is a patriotic, morally wholesome Yale graduate recruited by the fledgling CIA. His life is thrown into a dizzying chain of events as the full weight of the position he has accepted becomes clear. The strictest secrecy must be observed which causes friction between he and his new wife Margaret (Angelina Jolie). As America ushers in the era of cold war jitters, suddenly nobody trusts anyone, nobody is above suspicion and the only beliefs Wilson is left with - those of country and national pride - are challenged. The stellar supporting cast includes, among others, De Niro, Alec Baldwin, John Turturro and William Hurt.
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