The Good Shepherd (R, 2006)

A complicated, fictionalized version of the birth of the CIA, THE GOOD SHEPHERD centers on CIA operative Edward Wilson (Matt Damon). Director Robert De Niro's film cuts back and forth in time, showing how Edward came to be so dedicated to his job and how he pursues the traitor who spoiled the surprise of 1961's Bay of Pigs invasion. During WWII, Wilson winds up in London working for the Office of Strategic Services. He leaves behind his pregnant wife, Margaret (Angelina Jolie), becomes increasingly involved in his work, and discovers that lying, cheating, and murdering are necessary to protect borders and deceptions, as is the perpetual realigning of affinities. Recruited by CIA founder Bill Sullivan (De Niro), Edward believes that the group is solely (and nobly) interested in American values and identity, even though the group undertakes illegal, violent, racist, and hyper-nationalist operations. His wife complains that his devotion to national security distances him from his family, and indeed, it takes a heavy toll on his relationship with his son.

The Good Shepherd considers the blindness and other costs that come with being too committed to a job, even one that involves national security. The problem that Edward's chosen profession poses for him is both prosaic and sensational. At one level, the cost of his patriotism is reduced to a common device -- the difficulties between father and son. The film winds tighter and tighter around this relationship. "I never felt safe," Edward Jr. says. "I was always afraid because everything was a secret."

While The Good Shepherd does concede that secret agencies need to keep secrets, it also rejects the slippery, paranoid morality that follows from such a premise.

Studio: Universal Pictures
Director: Robert De Niro
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Matt Damon, Michael Gambon
Genre: Thriller
Run time: 160 minutes
Theatrical release: December 22, 2006
DVD release: April 3, 2007
MPAA Rating: R
MPAA explanation: some violence, sexuality and language.