J. Edgar (2011)

Leonardo DiCaprio stars in this riveting biopic as J. Edgar Hoover, the longtime FBI director as notorious for his overzealous methods of law enforcement as for the rumors regarding his cross-dressing and close relationship with protégé Clyde Tolson(Arnie Hammer).

J. Edgar was going to be a great movie. It just had to be. It had an all-star cast led by the always great Leonardo DiCaprio, Clint Eastwood was behind the camera working with a script from the screenwriter of Milk, and the film was placed in prime real estate to make an Oscar run. Funny how it was supposed to be. Instead what we got was a dynamite performance carrying a messy and cautious script that couldn’t establish a comfortable pace or focus on a clear subject.

There was plenty of material they could have dug up and thrown on screen through the life of J Edgar Hoover, but they seemed to get carried away a bit with just how much they could tackle. Important moments in his life are shown but quickly pushed aside trying to tackle on the next best thing that awaits you. This feels messy, rushed, and most importantly too vague. It might have turned out much better had they picked four or five defining moments for Hoover and ran away with them. Most of the interesting moments in Hoover’s professional career came from his contributions to the FBI and making it become the agency it represents today. He was a very intelligent man who used that very knowledge to work his way to the top and quickly I might add. It’s his field work and shady dealings that actually became a bore. They jump too much time without notification and sometimes can become a bit confusing to catch up. A simple years later at the bottom of the screen could have done wonders.

The films biggest strengths and weakness come when they explore J Edgars sexuality and the complicated relationship he forms with Clyde Tolson. The film certainly applies that he’s gay, but quickly cuts away from these moments between the two as if telling you to look away, this is wrong. It didn’t take enough risks and paid for it. The performance laid out here by DiCaprio is simply outstanding. It’s arguably the best performance of his career. Despite the script holding back, he shows the vulnerable and egotistical man Hoover was said to be. His counterpart Arnie Hammer as Clyde Tolson shows he is an young actor to watch out for following closely in the show of DiCaprio. The rest of the cast turned in fine, but very minor roles in comparison.

One of the film’s most curious aspects was using actual makeup to age the actors as they move along. It’s something that takes the eyes to adjust too, but outside of Arnie Hammer, they did an exceptional job of them. Leonardo DiCaprio was barely recognizable under all that rubber and makeup. This seemed to be the only risk the film decided to take, and if the rest of the film followed suit it might have been the quality it was expected to be. It’s not a bad film by any means, but years from now we’ll look back at this project and just wonder, what if……

Overall Score: 7/10