Review of J. Edgar (2011) by Kay K — 08 Jan 2013

This bio-pic starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Naomi Watts was a dark, brooding look at the life of the man at the top of the FBI for almost 50 years and it did not disappoint. Director Clint Eastwood is back on the top of his game with a film that kept audiences intrigued for almost 2 1/2 hours, with beautiful costumes, dialogue that at times danced and a classic, intensity-building score.

Armie Hammer as Hoover's right-hand man and partner Clyde Tolson was an absolute stand out. He is proving himself as one-to-watch and at only 26 years old, wow. To me, the real flaw was the ageing make up - it was almost as if the make-up artists spent the majority of their time working on DiCaprio and Watts (who both looked fantastic) and did Hammer as an afterthought. His makeup looked like a cheap mask and took away from the intensity of some of the final scenes.