Mike and I caught The Good Shepherd at the discount theater recently.
It was a dank, dark film and frequently uncomfortable to watch as the main character (a pulseless Matt Damon) sold out his college mentor, deaf girlfriend, accidentally knocked-up fling turned wife, the son they conceived, and various co-workers, co-conspirators and Communist arch rivals.
By the end, there were precious few people this guy hadn't ravaged or screwed over. It was easy to empathized with the screwed, but much harder to care about the guy doing all the damage. Plus, the film contained one of the most horrifying murders I've ever seen on the silver screen, indirectly the work of Our Main Character.
Before the credits were done rolling, I said, "I feel like I need to take a shower now. Let's go!" Mike concurred. IMDB says it took Robert De Niro 10 years to bring this project to movie screens. Why work so hard on a film if it makes people feel dirty for having watched it?
I read a few reviews to see if there was something I missed. Some panned, some raved. Perhaps De Niro's point was to show how poisoned a person could become while doing what he thought was the right thing. How lies beget lies and how secrets devour their keepers. The movie gave me the heebies, intentionally or not.
Hmmm, how about a nice, frothy antidote...say, Music and Lyrics?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment