Review of J. Edgar (2011) by Rohit P — 28 Jul 2012

I wanted to watch this movie for no other reason than to see DiCaprio take on yet another eccentric, historical figure. There is no other actor who excels at mimicking another human being than Leonardo. He highlights people's subtle traits and norms. He is a critical perfectionist which is what makes him so damn effective, and in turn makes me want to watch his films.

The director, Clint Eastwood employs a slow pace in all of his films but typically maintains necessary and relevant details that help his stories become so amazingly heartfelt. Whereas Tarantino relies on his dialogue to highlight his point, Eastwood utilizes the quiet of the heart to get his ideas across.

Both DiCaprio and Eastwood are effective in their own right, however I found this movie to lilt in terms of being a convincing fusion of the two talents. The character is personally muted in his approach to matters of the heart so you would assume that the story would need an incredible love story or Eastwood's direction to manipulate the viewers' hearts, but unfortunately this didn't happen.

The story is more of a bare bones, matter-of-fact recounting of J. Edgar Hoover's odd and mysterious life. The storytelling is interesting. There was a lot of back-and-forth movement throughout several pivotal points in Hoover's life, and Eastwood actually used this to make commentaries about the character in comparing actions in Hoover's younger days to his older years.

This movie is excellently constructed and flawlessly edited, and the acting is top notch. However, the storyline could have included some more heart. The two mega talents' exceptional efforts just didn't meld to become what it could have been.