The Good Shepherd- (6 out of 10)

I just saw The Good Shepherd, starring Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, William Hurt, and Robert DeNiro among others. It was also directed by Robert DeNiro. It is "The Story of the Birth of the CIA", as is stated in the preview, and it centers on Edward Wilson (Matt Damon's character).

The story is told in the present time of the movie, 1961, following the Bay of Pigs, and in flashbacks from 1939 to 1960. Now, try as I might, I cannot confirm whether or not this is really a true story. I'm looking up information on the CIA, and I'm not sure where Edward Wilson fits into all of this. So it might possibly be that Wilson is a made up character used to help push forward this story.

While TGS has a long runtime (160 minutes), it actually moves along at a very brisk pace, moving quickly between scenes. At the same time, the movie did not need to be 160 minutes. There is a lot of chaff in this movie, which brings me to my biggest gripe (I use this a lot, so I should trademark it). The movie cannot select a story it wants to follow. There is the Birth of the CIA and there is the Edward Wilson's Life story. I have nothing against telling both, but the former is almost buried beneath the latter. You get the general gist of how the CIA was brought about, but it's not in depth or informative at all. You see the OSS in action during and after WWII, and you see some interaction with Soviets, but really the movie focuses a little more broadly on Wilson's personal life and problems. This would've been fine it was more enjoyable to watch, or if I had been expecting this, but the previews said "The Good Shepherd: The Untold Story of the Birth of the CIA." So that's what I was expecting.

Matt Damon gives a pretty good performance as the austere and silent Edward Wilson, though his makeup when he is supposed to look like he's in his 40s is awful. It's like they just covered his face in a purple tint. Eddie Redmayne plays his son at the age of 20 or so, and I never want to see him in a movie again. He was terrible, overplayed his role, and I never bought into the fact that he could or would ever join a secret society at Yale. However, the separate casting of the son as a 20 year old and as a 7 year old was remarkable. The older looked exactly like the younger, just... older.

Joe Pesci has a very small role, and I have missed him. However, his role in this movie is pointless. It has nothing to do with the story, but is rather there to give Edward Wilson and the CIA a meaner looking side. It's like the writer didn't feel like he was getting the uglier side of the CIA across to the audience, so he stuck that scene in there with it's "beat you over the head" dialogue, which I still liked, there were some good lines said in that scene.

So, The Good Shepherd I think suffered from spending too much time on Edward Wilson's personal affairs, and not on the reason for the movie, that being the CIA. It's almost more of a family drama at times than it is a political/espionage type of movie. I took a class in school on the Cold War, and I was hoping there'd be more of that in this movie, but it wasn't there. Still, it's an alright movie, that has some interesting tidbits in it.

I wanted to close with a discussion of the ending, but there are spoilers, so skip this if you plan on seeing this movie.

SPOILERS!!

I did not like the ending. I highly doubt the reason the Bay of Pigs was blown was because Edward Wilson's son let the info of the raid slip to a Congolese spy for the KGB. That was an unnecessary add. That's something I'd expect out of Oliver Stone. There's no need to add such a twist to an important event like that. This also pushed Wilson's son to the forefront of the movie, and he was truly painful to watch.