The Good Shepherd (WS) | DVD Review

Robert De Niro directs Matt Damon in the not-exactly-true story of the birth of the CIA and somehow manages to make a fascinating era and instance of political intrigue feel as exciting as a ninth grade history class.

The Good Shepherd is the story of Edward Wilson (Damon), drafted as a member of the infamous Skull & Bones fraternity to become a key figure in the development of the CIA who puts his conviction in what he believes are the core “American Values” ahead of everyone and everything in order to promote and protect American freedom, and finds a way to destroy all those close to him in the process. Yet he never flinches. This is what makes him the perfect man for a job that will require him to act without the restraint of emotion to do what is necessary.

The CIA is a notoriously shady organization and the Skull & Bones brotherhood is believed to be so powerful that its members dictate policy and hand pick the leaders of the “Free World”.

There is a great story there.

Unfortunately DeNiro couldn’t find any room for one in this bloated opus.

The acting in the film is as top notch as its cast. Joining Damon are Alec Baldwin, William Hurt, Jon Turturro, Billy Crudup, Michael Gambon are all as brilliant as you would expect. Even Angelina Jolie proves surprisingly adept in the role of William’s frustrated and ignored wife.

And Robert Richardson, who has some experience with DeNiro (Wag the Dog) and political conspiracy (JFK), does a terrific job with the cinematography. Where this film really falls down is its direction. The ongoing joke with actors in Hollywood (or really anywhere for that matter) is that what they really want to do is direct. Some actors have done very well in that respect. This actor did not. Simply because he fell prey to an actor’s needs and directed the film as an actor.

Simply put actors like to act and deliver dialogue and take dramatic pauses. They need a director to yell cut or they will go on forever. The cardinal rule of good filmmaking is to, “get into the scene late and leave the scene early”. Bobby breaks that rule over and over again unleashing plodding scene after plodding scene at a pace that makes Clint Eastwood look like Michael Bay.

The picture and the sound quality are excellent, but the only special features on this bare bones disk are a few deleted scenes. The film goes on for 2 hours and 48 minutes and it feels as if nothing happens – 16 minutes worth of deleted scenes is overkill. It would have been nice to get a few documentaries about the CIA or Skull & Bones.

There was a time when Robert DeNiro’s name would be first off the tongue in a discussion about genius in film. But years of disinterested performances in weak films along with low brow comedies like Meet the Parents, Meet the Fockers and the inevitable Meet the Fockin’ Baby, have tarnished the name of someone who was once a cinema icon. Hopefully Bobby D will be able to regain some of that glory and make audiences excited to see his next film again. But that will only come with careful selections of his future projects and a rediscovery of his passion for making quality films.

Movie rating – 3

Disc Rating – 3