Mini Review
J. Edgar is the story of the life of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. The film is set at the start of his career with the FBI and focuses largely on his triumphs in the US justice system. The film also shines the spotlight on his personal life which until now has been overshadowed by the well known story of his success as one of America's most famous law enforcers.
Let me start by saying that J. Edgar is not in any way the film I thought it was going to be. For your reference I have included the trailer to the film below. Watch it, then tell me if you get any inkling from this that the film is going to be a Brokeback Mountain for the US justice system. No? Me neither! Now don't get me wrong as I love Brokeback as much as the next person, actually I probably love it more due to my love of Jakey, but the trailer does not imply that this is the type of film you are going to see. So a bit of a hint might have been nice.
Having said all that I actually found that this was my favourite thing about the film. The more political and overly judicious elements were a tad boring so being able to see this other side to Hoover was nice. And it definitely made him seem more human. But all of the scenes depicting Hoover's relationship with Clyde Tolson, his protege and the man he makes assistant director of the FBI, are, as Wikipedia puts it "an examination of his private life as an alleged closeted (and chaste) homosexual." So in other words, they're a part of this 'true' story that might not be true. But the filmmakers have included them anyway just to spice things up.
In some ways it's worked as the story would be dull as dishwater without these scenes, but in other ways I do feel a bit deceived. Partly by the trailer and partly by the declaration that this is 'based on a true story'. That gripe aside I did think that it was a good showcase of the talent involved and was a surprising film for someone like Clint Eastwood to make. The only real let down was the awful prosthetic make up which literally made the actors look like they were wearing fat suits and dodgy rubber masks. Make up can be better than this people, see the below award if you don't believe me.
A definite must see for those with an interest in recent American history (although it might not be all that historically accurate), gay love stories or fans of the people involved. 7 out of 10.
NB - for fans of Gossip Girl you might be interested to see Chuck Bass himself - Ed Westwick - as Hoover's first biographer.
Viewing Date - 25th January 2012
UK Release Date - 20th January 2012
Cast Overview:
Leonardo DiCaprio ~ J. Edgar Hoover
Armie Hammer ~ Clyde Tolson
Naomi Watts ~ Helen Gandy
Josh Lucas ~ Charles Lindbergh
Judi Dench ~ Anna Marie Hoover (Hoover's mother)
Jeffrey Donovan ~ Robert F Kennedy
Ed Westwick ~ Agent Smith - Hoover's biographer
Lea Thompson ~ Lela Rogers
Dermot Mulroney ~ Colonel Schwarzkopf
Director ~ Clint Eastwood
Writer ~ Dustin Lance Black
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