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Growing up, I always thought the life of a spy was glamorous and exciting, a life full of adventure and glory in which a few lucky secret agents get to serve America in ways most of us only dream of experiencing. After watching The Good Shepherd, I no longer envy those people--not even a little bit. In fact, I'm incredibly thankful that the idea of glamour and intrigue in the CIA never really captivated my attention. Simply put, I couldn't be happier that I live a plain life, as far from the CIA as I can be.

 

As you might have guessed by now, The Good Shepherd doesn't exactly make the CIA look glamorous. But to be fair, it doesn't seem to try to make it look bad, either. It simply paints a (seemingly) realistic picture of how involvement in such a covert organization can affect human lives. Even though it may seem exciting, this kind of government service limits friendships, family relationships, and the basic ability to trust anyone. It makes for a pretty bleak life....and a pretty boring spy movie.

 

In order to illustrate the less-glamorous side of the spy business, the movie follows the life of one man, Edward Wilson (played by Matt Damon). In the late 1930's, we see Edward as a bright young man, a poetry student at Yale who becomes a member of Skull and Bones, one of Yale's most secret and influential societies. He doesn't seem to join this society because he enjoys the secrecy and intrigue; it's more because of the honor of being asked to join in the first place.

 

Despite his membership in Skull and Bones, Edward's life doesn't start out to be overly complicated. He excels in his poetry studies, falls in love with a beautiful girl, and seems to be headed towards a life of normalcy. That is, until he is approached by the FBI and asked to spy on his mentor teacher, a teacher who appears to have Nazi ties. His completion of this spy mission and his status at Yale pave the way for Edward to become active in the American overseas spy operation during World War II. After doing a remarkable job at this post, he becomes one of the founding members of the CIA, and his life becomes completely devoted to his work.

 

As the movie progresses, we are taken through various stages of Edward's life, not depicted in chronological order. He marries a women he does not love (Angelina Jolie) after getting her pregnant, serves in espionage overseas for many years, learns to trust no one, and ends up completely disconnected from his family and his friends. Even his son, whom he loves very much, gets no attention from Edward. This man's duty is to his country, and he is constantly looking over his shoulder, so to speak.

 

Though this may sound like an interesting, thrilling movie, it's not. It's actually quite dull. It doesn't move nearly as fast as it should and has an overall feeling of oppressiveness that made me squirm in my seat. It lacks a central story to capture the attention of the audience, but instead moves through Edward's life with stifling slowness. It was hard for me to come up with a plot summary for this review of The Good Shepherd, because the story unfolded more like a timeline than a plot.  Even when a situation arises in which Edward is forced to choose between his son and his country, The Good Shepherd doesn't seem exciting. It simply feels heavy. This may be a purposeful tactic, to show with more emphasis the heaviness experienced by Edward because of his career. Whatever the case, it's not a fun movie to watch. And no matter what the justification, it simply doesn't move quickly enough to justify its length of over 2 and a half hours.

So, overall, while The Good Shepherd makes some interesting points and shows a side of the CIA rarely seen in films, it is just too boring for this reviewer's tastes. Unfortunately, I left the theater feeling more restless than thoughtful, and I just don't think The Good Shepherd succeeds as a film that will hold the attention of its audiences.