De Niro Delivers on Telling of CIA Beginnings

by Josh Marks, December 22, 2006

Could Robert De Niro be the next Clint Eastwood? Both were workhorse actors for most of their careers, but Eastwood later in life stepped behind the camera and became known more as a prolific director. He has two films this year in awards contention (“Flags of Our Fathers” and “Letters from Iwo Jima”) and already has the Oscars to prove it. If “The Good Shepherd” is any indication, then De Niro might not be too far behind.

His second directorial effort following “A Bronx Tale” in 1993 is an ambitious project about the beginning of the Central Intelligence Agency and the man chosen to help shape the secretive organization before and during the Cold War.

The idea for the film germinated in 1994 when Academy Award-winning writer Eric Roth (“Forrest Gump,” “Munich,” “The Insider”) drafted the initial script. After passing through different directors and studios, it finally found a home at Universal with Morgan Creek Productions signing on to produce and De Niro taking the helm along with renowned cinematographer Robert Richardson.

The all-star cast could have overshadowed the multi-layered story, but credit De Niro for creating such a pace and control to the film that Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie and even De Niro himself play their roles in appropriately understated performances.

The story follows Edward Wilson (Damon) from a tragic and privileged childhood to his time as a student at Yale and his initiation into the secretive Skull and Bones society, which breeds world leaders. He is eventually recruited to serve in the Office of Strategic Services, the precursor to the CIA, during World War II. His work shaping the agency consumes him and he pays the price with his family – wife Margaret (Jolie) and son Edward Jr. (Eddie Redmayne).

While the film keeps a steady pace at the beginning and end, the middle scenes are a little slow and fall flat, which detracts from the tension and buildup to the final climax. However, this is a minor criticism because the subject matter of the Cold War and America’s cat and mouse game with the Soviets is so interesting. It is disturbing to see Wilson lose himself in the world of espionage, where no one can be trusted. There is also a struggle to keep his soul that we see as well, especially in his relationship to his son.

“The Good Shepherd” is an epic film and De Niro does a masterful job taking us to a time before many of us were born but is so important to understanding the complex and dangerous world we live in today. Perhaps the greatest achievement of this movie is giving insight to not only the history of the CIA, but also the concept of dedicating oneself to country at the cost of individuality and family.

If De Niro decides to continue directing movies of this high quality, Clint could have some company and De Niro might have to make room on his shelf for some more Oscars.

“The Good Shepherd” opens today.