The Good Shepherd2006

It's the type of film that may be forgiven its imperfections when they are compared with the vastness of its accomplishments.

我挺喜欢这片拍得有静气，就德尼罗这片拍得像个老导演，很稳，一步步不疾不徐。当然整个故事的氛围都是有意营造出冷战小说的调调，不熟悉这套语境的观众会觉得叙事拖沓，但其实是导演和编剧刻意追求的风格（话说马伯庸的《风起陇西》也是故意在模仿冷战小说的笔触，我第一次读的时候也不理解）。整个倒叙的叙事结构，跟我最近在读的约翰·勒卡雷的《锅匠、裁缝、士兵、间谍》如出一辙。故事的主题也是勒卡雷式的：间谍总是通过背叛来实现忠诚。这种自我矛盾是悲剧的源泉。男主的女装、瓶中的船、藏起的父亲遗书，则是这一主题的反复变奏。剧本写得严谨而工整，但德尼罗拍得稍显匠气，不够举重若轻。

Damon is terrific in the role--all-knowing, never overtly expressing a feeling. Indeed, so is everyone else in this intricate, understated but ultimately devastating account of how secrets, when they are left to fester, can become an illness, dangerous to those who keep them, more so to nations that base their policies on them.