The Good Shepherd (2006)

12/23/06

I saw The Good Shepherd today and I must say I was impressed, it was a totally satisfying cinematic experince, something you can't say often. Robert De Niro directed, and has a small part in the film, which chronicals the early years of the CIA through the eyes of a top level administator named Edward Wilson (Matt Damon). Angelina Jolie plays Edwards wife, in the first really sympathetic role I've seen her in. Anyway the movie has an excellent cast, including Alec Baldwin, Michael Gambon, William Hurt, and Timothy Hutton. It's been called The Godfather of spy films, and that title holds both in the look and scope of the film, as well as in its handeling of heavy subject matters involving family and sense of dutey. The flick has one decent twist, a fairly intense scene of torture, and a surprisingly quick scene of murder towards the end, that's a little shocking and leaves a memorable image. There's no question that this will be up for best picture come Oscar time.

Addendum 7/4/07: So I was wrong.