Another DVD viewing...Matt Damon as a spy

There were pretty mixed reviews of The Good Shepherd, and I think it suffered with the similar name problem with The Good German (the one in black and white with Clooney). However, I really liked it. The story follows Matt Damon from college at Yale as a member of the less than secret Skull and Bones society through his recruitment to work as an intellegence officer overseas during WWII, and then as part of the original CIA and through the fiasco of the Bay of Pigs. He seems like a pretty decent guy who keeps things close and only talks when necessary - a perfect spy. He marries Angelina Jolie, who does have a few decent scenes with him, but it's mostly about Damon's attempt to maintain civility while being in a job that demands the edge of humanity while not trusting anyone.. Overall, I really liked it. It's a fairly long movie, but doesn't drag at any point, it's just steady throughout. Robert Deniro plays the other "good guy" in a bad guy's job, and gives Damon lots of advice about not trusting anyone. As a historical drama, it's really carefully played out, without revealing too much or pretending more than what really happened. The acting is also very precise, which is something I've heard about Deniro's directing - he does take after take until the actor's give him just what he's looking for. I really liked watching this - and recommend it to anyone with interest in the spy-world.