The Good Shepherd 2006

     Edward Wilson is the head of CIA covert operations during the Bay of Pigs.  The setting is Washington DC of 1946.  It is suspected that Fidel Castro has been tipped and Wilson looks for a leak.  As he investigates, he is recalling the death of his father, his student days at Yale, recruitment into OS, his affairs, a shotgun marriage, learning the spy craft in London, the distance from his son, the Cold War, relationships with the agency and also with British and Soviet counterparts.  His perpetual idealism is giving way to something different as he closes in on the finding the leak?

     This is not a film that everyone will like but the details are accurate.  It is very dark and murky and somewhat critical of the CIA.  It all boils down to the fact that emotions can color and undermine intelligence information.  It is interesting to see the actors in their younger years.  But, can you watch a spy movie that has no intrigue, no suspense, few characters but lots of parts with a lot of good actors to play them??  Unfortunately, Edward Wilson is a man with many secrets but no mysteries.  It is also a bummer that everyone should be able to spot the turncoat immediately without any hesitation!!!  2 1/2* (This movie is so-so)

167 min, Drama directed by Robert De Niro and written by Eric Roth with Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Robert De Niro, Alec Baldwin, Tammy Blanchard, Billy Crudup, Keir Dullea, Michael Gambon, Martina Gedeck, William Hurt, Timothy Hutton, Mark Ivanier, Gabriel Macht.

Note:  Imdb 6.7* out of 10* with 97,728 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 55% with 171 critics 51% with 182,247 audience scores, Roger Ebert 2*, Amazon 4.4* out of 5* with 1167 reviews, Metacritic 61 out of 100 with 33 critic reviews 6.6 out of 10 with 176 ratings, Letterboxd 3* out of 5*, The Guardian entertainment grade D-, history grade C-.

Special Note:  Edward Wilson is partly based upon James Jesus Angleton.  He was chief of the CIA Counterintelligence from 1954 to 1975.  The filming location is the Deer Island Club on Raquette Lake in the Adirondacks.  Great Camp Sagamore was built by William West Durant.  It was the summer retreat of the Vanderbilt family.  The inside proved to be too small and a replica was constructed in New York City.  There is a mistake with a Volkswagen in one of the scenes.  This car was first imported to the US in 1949.  A list in Dr. Fredericks’ briefcase is copied by Wilson but the list was made on a computer.  They was not available at this time period.