The CIA and the Mafia have been in bed together at least since the Bay of Pigs in 1961, so why shouldn’t Robert De Niro turn the former’s history into a blue-blood version of The Godfather? Beginning with that same invasion of Cuba, as agent Edward Wilson (played by Matt Damon with an unchanging expression of rueful ruthlessness) surveys the fiasco, asking himself, “What the fuck?” He flashes back to his initiation into Skull and Bones, his seduction into espionage, his wartime service in the OSS, the Cold War transition to CIA, and the many treacheries along the way in order to figure out who spilled the beans. Wilson takes on the persona of a buttoned-down Michael Corleone, Angelina Jolie has the Diane Keaton role as his long-suffering wife, and so on, with the requisite parallel editing, operatic violence, and umbrous visuals. At a certain point, though, you ask yourself questions like “How did he get to Africa?” Stylistically engaging, narratively murky, historically worthless.
On the Web
The Good Shepherd's Web site://www.thegoodshepherdmovie.com/
