J. Edgar was a drag (in more ways than one). In what was obviously a push to get Leonardo an Oscar, we saw a time and story of forgotten events. These were delivered in a simple and boring biopic directed by Clint Eastwood who didn’t sensationalize the story even though Hoover exaggerated his own story in real life. It was a quirky move for a quirky man. J. Edgar was a mumbling momma’s boy who was certainly before his time. But I kept wondering if audiences would be interested in a man they cared nothing about and who lived his life only to be cared for by the American people. “They don’t look up to me.”
Leonardo DiCaprio is J. Edgar Hoover. And he ain’t pretty. If you’re looking to fall in love with Leo all over again, this isn’t the movie to do it. As he says in the movie, “you can’t judge a book by its cover” and you’ll have to fall in love with his acting chops in this one. He plays both old Hoover and young Hoover as the story takes us back and forth in time to learn of the rise of J. Edgar as it coincides with the rise of the Bureau of Investigation which he headed for almost 50 years. Through the method of writing Edgar’s interpretation on the building of the Bureau, the story took us on a journey through the origins of one of the most hated and controversial men in American history. He was a racist homophobic who took the law into his own hands while possibly being a gay descendant of an African American who hid behind the law. I think the movie did a great job shining light on all sides of his character.
Leonardo DiCaprio is J. Edgar Hoover.
The movie is obviously based on a true story but they took their liberties in many areas. They concentrated a lot on his close relationships with mother (Judi Dench), personal secretary Helen Gandy (Naomi Watts) and his 2nd in command, dazzling blue-eyed love Clyde (Armie Hammer). To give the movie somewhat of a pulse, they highlighted key cases in the Bureau’s history like taking down gangsters and bank robbers as the “G-Men” and the Lindbergh kidnapping which was once the biggest event in America. But again, these are forgotten events that most Americans don’t care much for anymore – the movie touched on this a lot. It’s kind of amazing how fast we forget. They made it look like Hoover himself invented Crime Scene Investigation as well as the Dewey Decimal System and fingerprinting.
Leonardo DiCaprio with Naomi Watts and Armie Hammer
The attention to detail was superb. The crew of J. Edgar should be praised for the painstaking precision they showed while filming this period piece. It’s always fascinating to take a trip back in time and see how things used to be accomplished. Could you imagine solving a crime without the technology at our disposal right now? Driving down the streets chasing bank robbers while horses were on the road next to you. If you enjoyed movies like Public Enemies, you’ll gleefully enjoy segments throughout J. Edgar. The likenesses of the characters to their actual counterparts was striking as well. J. Edgar looked like J. Edgar. Cylde looked like Clyde. Nixon looked liked Nixon. There were also a few great cameos from familiar faces like Jeffrey Donovan and Stephen Root.
The real J. Edgar and Clyde...the resemblance is striking
There were Oscar talks of Leo way before this film ever came out but after the dull display, I doubt he’d win it. He surely will be nominated as this movie panders to the Oscar crowd. His performance was great and Oscars have been given out to weak movies before, but I just don’t see it. DiCaprio played the role extremely well highlighting Hoover’s eccentricities while showing how the man thought completely different from the rest of us. The best scenes, in my opinion, were the gay banter between himself and Clyde especially when their emotions erupted in the scene the audience could see coming from the fist time they met. Also, the epic speeches that Hoover delivered before Congress were delivered poignantly showing him as a word wrangler and expert in conversation. Even though he had a speech impediment which awarded him with the nickname Speedy.
"You're not even wearing shoes!"
This long (2 hours 17 minutes) depiction of J. Edgar Hoover felt even longer as you agonized during the first half of the movie wondering when it was going to pick up. Eventually, you do get committed to the character but it just isn’t exciting enough to be entertained the whole way through. It is very educational as I bet you will learn a thing or two about this high figure in our law system that we do owe a lot to (and can blame for a lot of other things). He was a shady man who gifted us with the shady overbearing shadow organization known as the Federal Bureau of Investigation which both protects us and monitors us in controversial ways. Presidents feared him, activists hated him. He hated anybody that wasn’t 100% Patriotic and on his side. I feel like audiences will react the same…if you love J. Edgar Hoover, you’ll love this movie…if you don’t care to know him, you’ll be wondering why you’re even watching this movie. It’s a rainy day movie to watch during social studies class at best.
With an election year coming up and thousands of people protesting the current state of the country, The Ides of March couldn’t come at a better time. The movie depicts how an idealistic bright-eyed kid could turn into a jaded man through the political system. It goes in depth in the behind the scenes conversations, backroom deals and indecent scandals that seem to affect every campaign. The Ides of March is very left-oriented as it follows the Democratic primaries to produce a clear winner to push for the White House. It blames the mudslinging to the elephants and blames the Democrats unwillingness to play dirty as the reason why so few are eventually elected. The movie is intriguing, intellectual and the right amount of entertainment with non-fiction.
Amazing. Great. Cutting-Edge. Ground Breaking. Wow. That should validate the movie and convince you to go. If you’re like me, you’ll stop reading this review and any other post about Inception, turn off the TV every time you see an ad for it, and go check out the film for yourself knowing as little of the story as you can. I knew the gist of the movie by seeing some early footage that Christopher Nolan presented during WonderCon a few months before but other than that, I went in to the movie with an open mind and loved almost every part of it. I promise this review will not have any spoilers so let’s dive in.
The Losers
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Splice
Inception
WonderCon is one of the country’s best comics conventions featuring guests and events for comics, movies, video games, and other popular media. This year, WonderCon had presentations by such Hollywood studios as Disney, Warner Bros., Sony, and Lionsgate.
