Rating: Beg or borrow, but do watch. J. Edgar is a curious mix: It's slow, almost glacial, in parts, and then quickly, shockingly moving in others; it's cerebral, almost distant, and then emotionally raw. Leonardo DiCaprio gave a solid performance, but the rest of this just dull. Read J. Edgar reviews from parents on Common Sense Media. Insecure, aggressive, fragile, ambitious, and stunted, Hoover is a very complicated character -- and one who's very difficult to pull off. Parents: Set preferences and get age-appropriate recommendations with Common Sense Media Plus. Using the typical left-wing matrix of Hoover’s alleged crimes, the movie opens with the Attorney General appointing Hoover to investigate left-wing immigrant agitators in 1919. Leonardo DiCaprio plays the chief, both as a young zealot in the cause of criminal-detection science, and as a crinkly oldster behind his desk, frowning, grimacing, taking his glasses on and off, barking cantankerous orders to his devoted secretary, and occasionally making brooding appearances on his Washington DC office balcony, to watch another presidential inaugural motorcade roll past. Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating to reviews, gives the film a normalized scor… I was really, really excited to see this movie, my +1 to the pre-screening and I were talking about all the potential that J. Edgar Hoover presented for a movie. Tolson explodes with jealousy, rage and hurt. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 43% based on 243 reviews, with an average rating of 5.72/10. ... Clint Eastwood directs this ponderous biopic of the legendary J Edgar Hoover, autocratically in charge of the FBI from 1935 until his death in 1972. Your privacy is important to us. DiCaprio is most convincing when he shows J Edgar as a young man, with an almost obsessive interest in library systems of classification, his dark eyes lighting up with excitement at the thought of applying these systems to putting the entire population under surveillance. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Armie Hammer, Judi Dench and Naomi Watts. J.EDGAR– Clint Eastwood’s latest directorial effort–is a mess from every point of view with the exception of Leonardo DiCaprio. But DiCaprio leaves nothing on the table; he's all in, and it's a gamble he wins. See our. Her withering stares wither, indeed, and her pitying glances are painful. But Eastwood and Black put at the centre of this film Hoover's quasi-homosexual, buttoned-up platonic relationship with his Bureau deputy, Clyde Tolson, played by Armie Hammer. He's matched by Hammer, who demonstrates again that he's an actor who understands nuance and delivers it. Was Hoover a reliable narrator? Fascinating biopic, best for mature teens and up. Synopsis: J. Edgar Hoover, powerful head of the F.B.I. Edgar' Finding the Humanity in the F.B.I.’s Feared Enforcer Leonardo DiCaprio, left, and Armie Hammer in "J. Edgar," directed by Clint Eastwood. Whether he deserves it or not, De Caprio will get nominated for an Academy Award though. The effect of Hoover on America itself is largely ignored, its speculations are cramped, and its actors hampered with plastic, padding and wigs. With Leonardo DiCaprio, Armie Hammer, Naomi Watts, Josh Hamilton. As he grows older, Hoover worries about putting on weight, but DiCaprio shows how he is pleased to hear both his mother and his doctor call it "solid weight". Do you consider Hoover a role model? Clint Eastwood’s biopic of FBI chief J Edgar Hoover is under-lit and over-reverential. J. Edgar, Clint Eastwood’s biopic of the legendary FBI chief, is a movie about secrets, the burden they place on their keepers, and the … Movie Reviews TV Reviews Roundtables Podcasts THR Presents. On vacation with Tolson (they enjoy going to the races together), he nervously confides that he is thinking of getting married to Dorothy Lamour, of all the outrageously obvious beards. J. Edgar (2011) This is a particular kind of movie--the based on fact biopic--done with great attention to period accuracy. It is by no means fact that Hoover and Tolson were lovers. If you chose to provide an email address, it will only be used to contact you about your comment. This film's echoes of Hitchcock's Psycho are striking, almost as if America is turning into a huge Bates motel with peepholes. As the face of law enforcement in … The message at the heart of J. Edgar is to be true to yourself, or every part of your life will be based on a false foundation. I'm not sure quite how solid it is. If that's what's important, getting a bit of American history into a vivid big screen format, then this works pretty well. Some smoking (accurate for the time period). The two men, and Gandy, periodically shuffle on for later-life appearances, prosthetically and somewhat exotically aged up. The first fifteen minutes of the movie proved my fears to be well founded, since the movie was really boring. There are interesting moments and interesting scenes here – but this J Edgar becomes a sonorous, History Channel drone. November 16, 2011 @ 12:18 pm Aliminum Badger. Should it be? Join now. How Technology Is Reshaping Democracy and Our Lives, Discover activities to get kids excited for a new year of possibilities from Wide Open School, Online Playdates, Game Nights, and Other Ways to Socialize at a Distance, Keeping Kids Motivated for Online Learning, Well-acted biopic is teen-friendly, but dull, Hoover's important, but conflicted, historical position, great teches about the history of j edgar hover, 5 Tips to Make Family Movie Night a Success. Out J.Edgar ( 2012 ) movie review, rating & box Office 's home life Hoover is and... Review | ' J was really boring twist that sneakily preserves the film 's of... And up the final scenes are syrupy and faintly bizarre, like a gay Muppet opera the... Edgar ( 2011 ) - J. Edgar Hoover ’ s attempts to and... To have recorded the sounds of people having sex distance from Hoover 's life... Political/Psychological conflicts this film 's echoes of Hitchcock 's Psycho are striking, almost as if America turning! 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