The Good Shepherd

We went to see "The Good Shepherd" tonight. Lots of intrigue and treachery. Without giving it away (if you saw it, we can talk privately), you have to pay attention in order to follow the story. It moves back and forth from 1961 and the Bay of Pigs to the 1940's and the beginning of the Cold War. Either living through that period or a couple of history courses would help you sort things out.

OK--nevermind. I'm going to give it away. SPOILER ALERT: if you haven't seen it, stop reading now.

Who knows what really happens with these guys, but this story was fairly plausible. I'm not sure now if Matt Damon was supposed to be the Good Shepherd, if he was supposed to care about the one lost sheep at the expense of the ninety-nine. After all, he was going to forego a chance to spare his son from career-killig disgrace. Not sure about the title, unless it has nothing to do with the Gospel story.

Not knowing whom you can trust, all the lying and posturing certainly takes a toll on people. As Matt Damon trudged to his office at the end, you could see in that last scene how the weight of everything he had done had hunched his shoulders and ground him down.

Then you wonder if it is a good thing to have people like him working for our government. Does he defend our ideals, or does he rather betray them? Now we have "Jack Bauer" doing the same things, albeit in a more flamboyant way.

I can't deny that there is something stirring in watching these characters beat the bad guys. And something equally compelling about the need to control these same people and their dirty deals done in our name.