This was a very well written picture with a lot of detail.

In “The Good Shepherd,” Edward Wilson, played by Matt Damon (The Departed), is an upright young man who is recruited into the newly found Central Intelligence Agency and now, as an adult in the Spring of 1961, he must locate an agency leak regarding the Bay of Pigs.

Through flashbacks, we explore Wilson’s ideals as his career gradually revolves around suspicion influenced by the Cold War. His devotion to his work and his country eventually cause him to sacrifice family and soul.

The character development in this script from Eric Roth (The Insider, Ali, Munich) was very consistent, especially when it came to Wilson as a character. Wilson’s choices later in life completely followed the person we’d seen him set up to become. It was a big strength for the movie.

This was a nice benchmark for Robert De Niro as a director (A Bronx Tale). Visually, he found a way to make the picture stimulating, while the material simply boiled down to a bunch of guys in long coats and hats meeting secretly and whispering to each other.

Damon exhibited a high amount of control over his tools as an actor, playing a severely stiff character.

The pace of the film was very slow. It feels very long; however, I don’t know how else De Niro could have presented this story. There were so many little things to catch, especially with a very jumbled series of events, I think I would have been lost if the film’s pace went any faster. It would have lost viewers if it material wasn’t presented carefully. The movie takes time to explain itself to the viewer, so if you’re going to see this one, make sure you’re wide awake.

The only way the movie could have helped itself was by aging Matt Damon’s character better. In his 1961 self, he is given thicker glass and a couple extra lines, but he was no where near the aging they did on Angelina Jolie (Mr. and Mrs. Smith), who plays Wilson’s wife. Had they done a better job aging Damon, the timeline of the story may not have been as tough to keep straight in one’s mind.

Overall, I thought this was one of the more well-made pictures of 2006. For history’s sake alone, I think it’s worth seeing. It’s a very nice, intense and subtle thriller.

Benn - Where's the Humanity?