‘J. Edgar’ Movie Review:

‘J. Edgar’ Movie Review: Some films refrain from shocking because of the audience it is aimed at, J. Edgar is rated a 15 but it still pulls far too many punches. This film is a ponderous biopic of the legendary J Edgar Hoover, who was in charge of the FBI from 1935 until his death in 1972. Leonardo DiCaprio plays the title role as the power loving and overzealous younger Hoover and the frowning, barking and cantankerous elderly Hoover who is stuck behind his desk, kept alive by drugs. And he is magnificent; it is as if the film is a documentary rather than acting. DiCaprio made me feel as if I was in the room with but the real stand out performance was from Armie Hammer who played Clyde Tolson, Hoover’s friend and close work partner. As a young man the rage and confusion is perfectly portrayed in this complex person. But when he played the older Tolson, that’s when he really blew me away, the decrepitness and shaking age was so real and true that by the end he had me in tears.  

      The thing that got me interested in this film was the American history aspect, but by the end of the film everything the trailers advertised turned out to be lies we never see any of Hoover’s great achievements go on to impact on American life. Another thing that attracted me to this film was the impact of Hoover’s supposed gay sexuality on his life. Again this was betrayed; it neither pronounce Hoover gay nor does it say he was trapped in the closet or even portray that he even was homosexual at all. Even in the scenes where it is slightly addressed Clint Eastwood (director) refuses to tell us if Hoover is homosexual, asexual, confused, with sentimental, brotherly feelings towards Tolson. There is a slight sepia tint over the whole film which I felt gave the movie an authentic noir feel coupled with the music by Ludovico Einaudi but it made it hard to exactly make out the expression in the eyes of the actors and I believe that is more important.

      There is a weird, muffled neutrality to all this, a lot of pulled punches and fudged issues, but the film is still a captivating and sad biopic with tremendous acting, six out of ten stars.