Frosty performances distracting in 'Shepherd'

THE GOOD SHEPHERD — ** — Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, John Turturro; rated R (violence, profanity, sex, nudity, torture, drugs, vulgarity, brief gore, racial epithets).

Robert De Niro is first and foremost an actor, one who knows how a performance can make or break a movie. Which makes some of his directorial mistakes in "The Good Shepherd" quite surprising.

De Niro's second film as a director (after "A Bronx Tale") is a political thriller about a character who's always guarded and secretive. So he's chosen to have Matt Damon play that character in a cold, aloof fashion — and most of the other actors play their parts the same way.

As a result, the film feels clinical, detached and more than a little uncomfortable. It's more chilly than chilling, and audiences will have a hard time warming to any of these characters — though these flaws might not be quite as noticeable if the film weren't nearly three hours long.

"The Good Shepherd," in which De Niro also has an acting role, is a fictionalized version of the founding of the CIA, as seen through the eyes of Edward Wilson (Damon), who is recruited to spy on one of his teachers at Yale, and then finds himself working in England during World War II, doing counterintelligence.

Being away from home for so long has dire consequences on Edward's family life. His wife, Margaret (Angelina Jolie), has grown resentful, and his young son (Tommy Nelson) barely knows who he is.

Eric Roth's screenplay is a little scattered and unfocused. Aspects of the film also deal with Wilson's adversarial relationship/friendship with a Russian counterpart (Oleg Stefan), his failed romance with a hearing-impaired woman (Tammy Blanchard), and the disastrous 1961 Bay of Pigs mission, which sees golden boy Edward finally come under some serious scrutiny.

None of the story lines really come together as they should, and the pacing is indulgent at best. And while De Niro's direction is certainly stylish, the frosty performances are off-putting. Only supporting-cast members John Turturro and Alec Baldwin seem to have a pulse here.

"The Good Shepherd" is rated R for some strong violence (beatings, shootings and some war violence, as well as violence against women), strong sexual profanity, simulated sex, flashes of male and partial female nudity, a scene of torture and interrogation, drug content (LSD use and references), crude references and a bodily function gag, brief gore and use of racial epithets. Running time: 167 minutes.

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E-mail: jeff@desnews.com