Movies Reviews

J. Edgar – Movie Review

By Anne Brodie Nov 11, 2011, 17:13 GMT

A biopic about FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, who was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation in 1924 and later was the head of the FBI when it was founded 11 years later. ...more

FBI director J. Edgar Hoover was a demagogue with a vengeful streak, and Eastwood reveals a man who patriotic to the point of obsession, who allied himself to high morals but kept secret , sometimes false files on leading figures of the day for blackmail purposes and bowed to break any enemy.  What a subject!

 Hoover’s is an extremely interesting story, whatever people think of him.  He was so powerful that he ran the Bureau for fifty years, a position that usually runs just 10, and served under eight Presidents. 

Di Caprio gives a weighty (in more ways than one) performance; he is very good indeed.  He seems to have embraced an older self, accepting his maturity and years.  And he can also lay claim to DeNiro and Pacino’s territory – he’s that good.

Armie Hammer plays Hoover’s lifelong protégée Clyde Tolson, who may or may not have been his lover. They famously worked together, ate their meals together and were buried next to each other. He had a strong influence over Hoover and stayed in the Bureau far longer than he was useful.

Hammer does a bang up job despite unfortunate aged makeup, which for the last third of film is distracting and false.

Fun fact – Hammer knew of Hoover’s ways growing up.  He says Hoover’s men went through his great-grandfather’s trash in their quest to discredit him.  His grandfather was industrialist Armand Hammer.

Naomi Watts plays the pivotal role of Hoovers’ long time secretary Helen Gandy, a steadfast woman who turned down his marriage proposal just after they met.   She protected Hoover from all kinds of invasions from the outside world, kept his secrets and hid his private files.  

A few leaked out later in Hoover’s career, but the majority were never recovered. Gandy is seen shredding them in the film. 

Watts is quite wonderful in what amounts to a supporting role.

The film holds shocks for some, including information Hoover gathered on President Kennedy’s sex life and Eleanor Roosevelt’s bisexual affairs.   It makes rather subtle references to Hoover’s reported habit of cross-dressing and the resulting guilt and fear he suffered  especially in light of his war on “unnatural” sex.

We learn that Charles Lindbergh, whose kidnapped baby became another of Hoover’s obsessions, hated him.

Eastwood has made an elegant film, but as mentioned, we’re taken out of it by the glaring age makeup in the final third.  It is a real problem. 

However, Eastwood is an artist and this is another example of what he can accomplish, it’s severe as Hoover was, dark as he was and like him fascinating.  It’s detailed, and moves  seamlessly from past to present to best bring authenticity to this complicated man’s story, set in an absorbing milieu of US government during a long an turbulent period.

The most feared man in America, who made his reputation stealing glory from his men’s exploits, is parsed and examined.  It’s fascinating and repugnant at the same time and Eastwood makes it work.

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35mm drama
Written by Dustin Lance Black
Directed by Clint Eastwood
Opens: Nov 11
Runtime:  ?
MPAA: Rated R for brief strong language
Country: US
Language: English