Review of J. Edgar (2011) by Mitch S — 11 Apr 2013
A poor film despite DiCaprio's intense effort. Far too little is made of Hoover's evil blackmailing and its disastrous affect on US culture. There is no real effort to examine how and why Hoover was allowed to stay in office as long as he did, and who championed his continuance.
Far too much is made of how "complicated" he was. DiCaprio was too young for the role and doesn't "age" well in the part. The ageing make up for Armie Hammer is almost comically bad.
The flashback technique is poorly edited and often serves only to confuse. This was an opportunity for Eastwood to make a valuable contribution to US culture but he fails badly through timidity. Hoover was evil right through, denied the very existence of the mafia until Robert Kennedy made it impossible for him to deny, and ultimately was responsible for turning large areas of the FBI into a US version of the Gestapo.
This film might please the US Establishment and its apologists but it will earn no plaudits from those of us who love democracy and despise everything Hoover stood for. Arguably Eastwood's worst ever film.
This review of J. Edgar (2011) was written by Mitch S on 11 Apr 2013.
J. Edgar has generally received mixed reviews.
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