Robert De Niro is without a doubt one of the greatest actors of all time, as many of the films he made within the first few decades of his career are now considered to be among the greatest of all time. Although some actors face a decline in quality later on in their careers, De Niro continues to put out excellent performances and even received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor last year for his terrifying role in Killers of the Flower Moon. De Niro has served as a producer on many of the films that he has appeared in but didn’t make his directorial debut until 1993 with A Bronx Tale. Although A Bronx Tale received a largely positive response, De Niro indicated he was a great director with the thrilling spy drama The Good Shepherd, which was released to both significant acclaim and some considerable controversy.
What Is ‘The Good Shepherd’ About?
The Good Shepherd examines the birth, rise, and reign of the CIA, showing how the enigmatic agency became essential within American politics and warfare throughout the 20th century. The story is told through the perspective of Edward Wilson (Matt Damon), who was loosely based on the real counterintelligence agent James Jesus Angleton. Wilson became involved with the CIA after being recruited by a prestigious fraternity during the early days of World War II and began developing strategies to help the Allied Forces take down the Nazis. His career was dominated by significant events, including the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 that nearly resulted in the Cold War bridging into an actual armed conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union. Despite his dedication to his country, Wilson’s personal life was very challenging, as the immersive nature of his line of work forced him into a difficult marriage with his wife, Margaret Russell (Angelina Jolie).
The Good Shepherd is an old-fashioned epic that shows the ability of one man to have an effect on history. Although 167 minutes is certainly a long time for an audience to lock into a film that is so articulate about its historical details, The Good Shepherd manages to keep the narrative entertaining due to the non-linear storytelling techniques that De Niro employs. Although Damon gives a terrific performance as a man caught between his patriotism and personal ethics, the entire film is filled with memorable performances by great actors, including John Turturro, Alec Baldwin, William Hurt, Joe Pesci, Billy Crudup, and Timothy Hutton, among others. De Niro even has a brief role as General Bill Sullivan, a powerful member of the American military that was based on the real William J. Donovan. Despite being a flop at the box office, The Good Shepherd received warm reviews and was even nominated for Best Art Direction at the Academy Awards.
Why Was ‘The Good Shepherd’ So Controversial?
The Good Shepherd was subjected to serious criticism by the CIA, who claimed that the film distorted facts and misinterpreted events in a way that would be damaging to its reputation. In May of 2007, the CIA held a roundtable discussion in which they objected to many events in the film, including the assertion that the Skull and Bones fraternity physically abused its new inductees, that the Bay of Pigs disaster was the result of an intelligence leak, and that the CIA was deliberately trying to influence the American economy. Given that many of the events depicted in the film are still classified, it may be challenging to determine whether the CIA or De Niro were being entirely truthful.
De Niro has teased the possibility of a sequel to The Good Shepherd, which would examine the events between the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, which essentially put an end to the Cold War before the Soviet Union officially dissolved in 1991. Although De Niro is still acting in many projects, including the highly anticipated Netflix miniseries Zero Day, it would be a shame if he was never afforded the opportunity to make another film. Given how much De Niro has contributed to the evolution of the cinematic art form, he should be given the freedom to move forward with any of his passion projects.
The Good Shepherd is streaming on Prime Video in the U.S.
Watch on Prime Video
