Good Shepherd, The
The tumultuous early history of the Central Intelligence Agency is viewed through the prism of one man's life in The Good Shepherd, an espionage drama starring Academy Award winners Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie and Robert De Niro and directed by Robert De Niro.
Edward Wilson (Matt Damon) understands the value of secrecy discretion and commitment to honor have been embedded in him since childhood. As an eager, optimistic student at Yale, he is recruited to join the secret society Skull and Bones, a brotherhood and breeding ground for future world leaders. Wilson's acute mind, spotless reputation and sincere belief in American values render him a prime candidate for a career in intelligence, and he is soon recruited to work for the OSS (the precursor to the CIA) during WWII.
As one of the covert founders of the CIA, working in the heart of an organization where duplicity is required and nothing is taken at face value, Edward's' idealism is steadily eroded by a growing suspicious nature, reflective of a world settling into the long paranoia of the Cold War. As his methods are adopted as standard operating procedure, Wilson develops into one of the Agency's veteran operatives, all the while combating his KGB counterpart. However, his steely dedication to his country comes at an ever-increasing price. Not even his wife Clover (Angelina Jolie) or his beloved son can divert Wilson from a path that will force him to sacrifice everything in pursuit of this job.
Directed by
Robert De Niro
Cast
Matt Damon - Edward Bell Wilson
Angelina Jolie - Clover/Margaret Ann Russell
Alec Baldwin - Sam Murach
Tammy Blanchard - Laura
Billy Crudup - Arch Cummings
Robert De Niro - General Bill Sullivan
Keir Dullea - Senator John Russell, Sr.
Michael Gambon - Dr. Fredericks
Martina Gedeck - Hanna Schiller
William Hurt - Philip Allen
Timothy Hutton - Thomas Wilson
Joe Pesci - Joseph Palmi
Production Co.
Tribeca Films
Morgan Creek Productions
American Zoetrope
Produced by
Francis Ford Coppola
Chris Brigham
Guy McElwaine
Studios
Universal Pictures
Writer
Eric Roth
Music
Walt Fowler
Rick Giovinazzo
