The Good Shepherd
Directed by Robert De Niro
- drama
- thriller
- history
The story
Edward Wilson, the only witness to his father's suicide and member of the Skull and Bones Society while a student at Yale, is a morally upright young man who values honor and discretion, qualities that help him to be recruited for a career in the newly founded OSS. His dedication to his work does not come without a price though, leading him to sacrifice his ideals and eventually his family.
What it’s like
Cold, muted palettes dominate this film: slate greys, olive drab, wood-panelled rooms lit by lamps and the flat overcast of Washington, Berlin and Havana. Long, deliberately static compositions hold on corridors, desks and dinner tables, with the camera content to wait while characters say less than they mean. Scenes often play in dim interiors or drab exteriors, and the sound design is restrained, with hushed rooms, ticking clocks and sudden, sharp bursts of noise that break the quiet. Its vibe is austere and melancholic, a slow chill that settles in and stays. It suits a grey afternoon or a late evening when you want something serious and unhurried. The pacing is measured and often deliberately withholding, and the emotional register stays guarded, following a withdrawn man who gradually gives up warmth and intimacy for duty and secrecy. Violence is sparse and sudden rather than gratuitous, with a few tense, brief killings and some emotional cruelty, but no gore. It is for viewers who appreciate cold-war paranoia, quiet character study and a sombre, adult look at the costs of loyalty.
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