The good shepherd tends to his flock, but the question for Edward Wilson, the character at the center of “The Good Shepherd” played by Matt Damon, is just who is his flock? Will his love for his family or his loyalty to his country win out? That may sound dramatic, and it is, but the crux of the story doesn’treveal itself until late in the film.

“The Good Shepherd” is really about the birth of the Central Intelligence Agency and Wilson is there from the beginning. Recruited out of Skull and Bones at Yale, Wilson first works overseas during World War II for the newly created Office of Secret Services. When the war is over, those same men form the CIA and their new enemy is the communists. There is a lot of interesting information in the film and it skips around on a timeline that goes from when Wilson is at Yale to the aftermath of the failed Bay of Pigs mission.

Robert DeNiro directs this film with a light touch. He assembled a magnificent cast and he lets them do the heavy lifting. Damon is quite good as a quiet, gray man who has placed himself in the precarious position he is in. The clear cut answers he once saw in service to his country are not as black and white as time progresses. He has always been told that he won’t be able to trust anybody and the audience is able to see how that wears on the character. The same can be said for his wife, Margaret, played by Angelina Jolie. Beautiful at their first encounter, the years of secrecy, betrayal and desertion chip her away to almost nothing. There are many other fine performances as well, especially from William Hurt, Michael Gambon, John Turturro, Billy Crudup and Alec Baldwin, who may be the finest character actor working today. Baldwin is a presence in any film and his work in this film as an FBI agent who operates on the fringes of this story is fun to watch.

“The Good Shepherd” is long, too long to not have more dramatic resonance. While everything on screen is interesting and well done, I found myself wanting just a little bit more of an impact. This is a good movie and one that should hold the attention of any adult, but it falls just short of being a great film and it certainly had the potential to be that.

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