The Good Shepherd (Robert De Niro, 2006)

Superficially a potted history of the background to the formation of the CIA, De Niro's second stab at directing gives us instead the story of a single cipher-like figure at the heart of the process. Matt Damon's Edward Wilson moves up the ranks from post-war Berlin to the Bay of Pigs debacle at a stolidly conscientious pace, his devotion to his country more a matter of keeping his word than a product of patriotism. The character forms scant human attachments along the way and Angelina Jolie's incredulous and then despairing wife is hardly required to hammer home the point that Wilson is basically a blank space, a compliant cog in the superpowers' spy game intrigues. And therein lies the problem: it's ultimately hard to care about Wilson, the focus of the film, with his passionless and inexpressive self-denial, and harder still for De Niro to justify dragging the telling out to nearly 3 hours. Sure, abundant cameo spotting opportunities and Robert Richardson's frequently sumptuous photography help to pass the time on the way, and the modish disorientation caused by the rarely signposted jumping back and forth in time is diverting, but at the end one is left feeling as empty as the net result of Wilson's accomplishments.

5/10