The Good Shepherd is a 2006 spy film directed by Robert De Niro and starring Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, and Alec Baldwin. The movie is loosely based on the real-life history of the CIA, and follows Edward Wilson (Matt Damon), a brilliant young man who is recruited into the newly formed Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II.
Edward's father, who was also a high-ranking member of the Skull and Bones Society, kills himself when he is exposed as a traitor to the US government. This event shapes Edward's life, and he becomes fiercely dedicated to his work in the OSS. He travels to London, Berlin, and Moscow, during which he gathers vital intelligence on the Soviet Union and helps to found the CIA.
As the years go by, Edward becomes increasingly distant from his family. He cheats on his wife Margaret (Angelina Jolie) with a woman named Laura (Tammy Blanchard) and has a child with her. The strain on his marriage eventually becomes too much for Margaret, who begins drinking heavily and eventually leaves Edward.
At the same time, Edward's work in the CIA becomes more morally ambiguous. He orders the torture of suspected Soviet agents and secretly plots to overthrow Fidel Castro in Cuba. When Edward's son tries to join the CIA, Edward blocks his application, convinced that the agency has become too corrupt for his son to be a part of it.
The movie ends with Edward alone in his office, looking back on his life with regret. His ideals of honor and discretion have been eroded by years of spying, and he has lost the things that matter most to him: his family and his sense of morality. The Good Shepherd is a powerful portrait of a man who sacrifices too much in service of his country, and it raises important questions about the ethics of government surveillance and intelligence gathering.