The Good Shepherd Review

by Homer Yen (homer_yen AT yahoo DOT com)
December 27th, 2006
"The Good Shepherd" - Walks Softly and Carries a
Small Stick
by Homer Yen
(c) 2006

An operative in this film poses this question:
"Why don't we put the word THE in front of CIA?"
His response is interesting. "Do you put the
word THE in front of God?" The purpose of the
agency is far-reaching. But the means to
reaching the objectives are always just. As our protagonist, Edward Wilson (Matt Damon) puts it,
their job is to turn big wars into little wars
through whatever means possible. Insiders may
call that patriotism. Outsiders may call it misfeasance. Either way, the world of espionage
is full of hard decisions that need to be made
with a detached eye.

"The Good Shepherd" explores this limbo, through
the eyes of Edward, during a two-decade period.
The film hopscotches between the period at the
end of WWII through the Kennedy era, when
espionage was at its most seductive. Our
protagonist has become an influential player
within the CIA, and he is tasked with trying to discover how the invasion at the Bay of Pigs in
Cuba met with such disastrous results.

Much of his detective work revolves around an anonymous tip that he receives. Using the
resources available, the techies at CIA HQ do
their methodical best to help determine if there
was a leak in the CIA, or as they say in
spy-speak, if there was a stranger in the house.
CIA work seems to be laborious and painstakingly detailed. The same can be said about this film,
and you can decide for yourself if that
constitutes merit or detriment.

On the one hand, the film is very handsomely shot
and each camera angle has been meticulously
planned to give this film an air of suspense and intrigue. For example, Edward may innocently
hand a boy change in exchange for a $1 bill, but
we see later that the bill contains a special
serial number that imparts an important secret message. The dialogue is always to-the-point
terse. There seems to be a hushed silence that follows each spoken sentence as if their words
could change America's fortunes.

The film also works on the level of character
study. It has been a showcase year for Matt
Damon, who like in "The Departed," plays an enigmatically, disciplined character.
All these heavy secrets can wither a good man
down. It is fascinating to watch the trajectory
that Edward takes from his days at Yale when he
would take on the role of Buttercup in the
musical "H.M.S. Pinafore" and mud wrestle naked. Twenty years later as a seasoned CIA operative,
he has receded into a world of reticence and
reserve.

But the cloak and dagger atmosphere and the great direction are ultimately betrayed by a protracted screenplay that sabotages any semblance of
suspense. There is boring dialogue where there
should be some kind of build-up. One would think
that being a spy would be kind of exciting. It
is a skillfully woven presentation, but this Cold
War world lacks zing. This is a story about a
man's journey from being a free-willed individual
to a colorless career man for the Agency. And
while it succeeds on that level, it also
unfortunately succeeds in becoming a colorless
film as well.

Grade: C+

S: 2 out of 3
L: 1 out of 3
V: 2 out of 3

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