Review: The Good Shepherd

Warning: Some spoilers. If you plan on watching The Good Shepherd, move on. Go see it and come back. Nothing interesting here til then.

Jack and I went to our weekly movie date last night to catch "The Good Shephed". I wasn't particularly keen on seeing it because something about its trailer did not sit well with me. It was boasting of its star-studded cast and I was unsure of Robert de Niro as a director. Nothing against Mr. De Niro, but very few have successfully crossed the great actor-director divide. I decided on giving it a chance since I read in a feature in the Telegraph that Matt Damon, the lead actor in the movie, came across the screenplay even before being offered a part in it, when he asked his manager to give him the top 5 best unmade films in Hollywood that time. Ok, so it had big shoes to fill in my book.

The movie had good intentions but I found it meandering at some point. I knew there was something wrong when I distinctly remember thinking to myself, 'This is taking too damn long.' There were a lot of subplots that I knew were designed to enhance the characterisation for Edward Wilson, but it just didn't do it for me. So the movie built up how Wilson transformed from a poetry student who wins his teacher's affection, to a CIA top dog who barely speaks and can watch a man being tortured without flinching. This builds up for most of the movie only to have a final conflict of Wilson having to choose between his work and his son. I felt shortchanged. Don't get me wrong, choosing between family and something else is and will always be a powerful theme. However, I think, it could have been done in an equally dramatic, but more succinct way. Think "Road to Perdition". In The Good Shepherd, there were also some cliches that did not exactly make me wince but made me go, 'eh'. In the end, it can be considered as a good script, not the best in my book, but definitely has the potential of being an unforgettable movie. Now this is where direction comes in. It was a good effort for De Niro but I feel he went a bit ambitious on this one. It made me think how a good screenplay does not guarantee a good movie, which totally opposes my current view. One scene that I felt was particularly self-indulgent was when Matt Damon's character burned his father's suicide letter. All of a sudden it was slow motion up to the point when he threw the ashes complete with swelling background music. So 'Godfather'. So in the end, I concluded two things for the screenplay: one, it's not a good enough script to survive a novice director (harsh, i know) and two, I would love to see another director remake this film.

With my naysaying done, there are several things that I liked about the movie.

Matt Damon, in my opinion did a good job in this film. He has that inherently quiet person look, something, I fear, Tom Hanks doesn't have. Despite this he manages to give humanity to his character.

Angelina Jolie. I particulary liked her performance. Although, I was in doubt if her acting was indeed good or if I was just fascinated by her. What is it about this woman?

The guy who played Damon's assistant. I wished there was more of him. I feel he could've been a better foil character than that Hayes character, or that British spy.

Final verdict:

Top Rating *****
Screenplay ****
Director **
Cast ***