Comment

Jun 06, 2017MichelleinBallard rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Great film, great cast. "The Good Shepherd" is not a "spy thriller" and makes no pretense to that effect. Rather, it is a rich and sophisticated *dramatization* of the OSS/CIA in the Cold War era loosely based on actual historical events and people. It's far from a pro-CIA film. On the contrary, the CIA took the unusual step of convening a panel in 2007 that publicly critiqued the film. The panel transcript can be found on the CIA's web site. The CIA's hand-picked reviewers were generally panned "The Good Shepherd" and that should tell discerning people something. I'm tempted to say that DeNiro could have shortened the film but I'm not sure that would have improved it. Sometimes an illuminating story just takes a long time to tell well.