Review of J. Edgar (2011) by Claire J — 28 Jan 2013

What a man Eastwood is! He seems tireless. At 82 he never stops challenging. This time 'round it's interlocked narratives. Let's see:

There's the memoirs writer (whose writing we watch), then there's our manic narrator J. Edgar (damaged by age!), then there are slips (spatial too!) in remembrances/ in his younger selves. All those layers influence each other in some measure.

There's a scene that stuck with me: J. Edgar (right after his mothers death) wears her clothes then rips the necklace off in angst. The way it's shot... Heavily intimate, very dark, moist almost... with some scarce light, halos contouring the grief. The abyss. Film builds to this, but plot wise it's not a crucial scene. Without it story loses nothing, but with it... Well...

There are some flaws, but they don't really detract from the fact that this is an excellent film directed and carried by an outstanding man.