MovieChat Forums > The Good Shepherd (2006) Discussion > Should have had old make-up

Should have had old make-up


Matt damon should have had old make-up for his scenes set later... the make up for the other characters was good and subtle...

Why didn't they at least grey his hair a bit?

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You know Renovatio, that's exactly what I was thinking all the way through this film, because at times he only looked a couple of years older than Eddie Redmayne who played the part of his son. A few wrinkles and some grey hair would have made it look a little bit more realistic for sure.



Deckard B26354, I'm filed and monitored.

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Agreed. Damon was talking about it when he was on Inside the Actor's Studio. He said that De Niro (the director) wanted the aging to be very subtle, so they slightly grayed his hair by his temple and shaved back his hairline a bit. But the movie goes through two decades if I recall. They should have aged him up with wrinkles, sagging skin, and liver spots, or something to show the passing of time.

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Yeah. He goes from college age in 1940s to post Bay of Pigs/ early 60s, and they should have done a bit more with makeup. I'm all for subtle aging, but I almost had to pause the movie to see the greying on his temples (although it was there; I did notice it).

Maybe what they should have done was also made him look a little more youthful during the earlier scenes, and Jolie as well. At that college years gathering of the Skull and Boneses, they both looked like...well, their ages.

Weirdly enough, I thought they did a good job of subtly aging Jolie's character. Margaret did look like she was in or approaching middle-age by the end of the film, but Damon looked like he had just frozen in time.

Is there something there? The character is a cypher throughout the film. Perhaps his preservation is deliberate? Like a kind of Portrait of Dorian CIA?

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