J. Edgar ***

Starring;

Leonardo DiCaprio

Armie Hammer

Naomi Watts

Judi Dench

Director;

Clint Eastwood

In three words; Good – Bad - Ugly

Plot;

We see the life and times of J. Edgar Hoover as he recites his memoirs. We see him struggling to set up the FBI along with his sexuality and personal relationships. A journey which spans several decades we witness the account Hoover wants to portray and be remembered for however not all is as it seems.

Review;

We follow J.Edgar Hoover throughout his life, the story is told via Hoover writing his memoirs with the assistance of various upcoming FBI agents whilst he also carries out his duties as head of the FBI. Eastwood dances around various stages in Hoover’s life in perhaps an overly complex way. Clearly the director didn’t want to plod through the story in chronological order however; at times I felt that he needed to be more cohesive with the narrative. There were times where he lost the pace of the film.

I knew very little about Hoover before watching the film however he clearly led a full and interesting life. What strikes as rather odd from the first scene in why Eastwood would have chosen DiCaprio to play this multifaceted character in the first place? He is not the obvious choice however his acting ability shines through and he is believable even when in full make-up as the older Hoover. Having said this I felt I needed time to get used to his accent and character but as the film settles it is easy to enjoy a very good performance.

We have to rely on DiCaprio to hold the film together as he has a poor supporting cast. Armie Hammer plays Hoover’s close assistance Clyde Tolson. He also has full make-up in order to age him at different parts of the film however; unlike his co-star he is unable to make a believable transition to an aged man. Hammer’s portrayal of old Tolson would not be out of place in a skit on Jackass but here he’s a sore thumb.

I really liked Hammer in The Social Network as the Winklevi twins however he is clearly out of his depth in this film. Tolson was one of only a few people that Hoover felt comfortable with and could become himself. However, there is reluctance for Hoover to portray his true feelings despite Tolson’s drawn out advances and Hoover’s own feelings. I feel that Eastwood was as uncomfortable in dealing with Hoover’s sexuality as much as he struggled with it during his life.

In one scene with Hoover and Tolson the best Eastwood can do to highlight their intensifying homosexual relationship in a conversation about woman’s clothing and what I can only describe as a hissy fit! This is condescending to the audience and rather embarrassing. One would expect a better scene from Dustin Lance Black, the writer of Milk.

Equally as disappointing was Naomi Watts who plays Hoover’s trusted secretary Helen Gandy. She struggles to portray an older Gandy and comes across as constantly being completely fed up however we are meant to believe that she is a loyal servant to Hoover. This does not portray the relationship she had with Hoover very well and ultimately lets the film down.

Whilst DiCaprio has to bind scenes together with these poor performances from his colleagues he is saved by Judi Dench who plays Hoover’s mother, Anna Marie. Whilst their scenes together are much better than that of Hammer and Watts we still see a struggle in building a believable relationship. Hoover was, for want of a better word, a mummy’s boy and Dench does well to show this however the script again lets the scenes down as far too often we hear Hoover saying ‘yes Mother’ ‘no Mother’. It all became a bit Norman Bates to me.

Eastwood is very much a hit and miss director for me, at times he is highly overrated not only as a director but as an actor. Fortunately he does not make an appearance in this film. Generally the look of the film works my only criticism is the numerous scenes with Hoover standing on his balcony watching the latest President being inaugurated. Whilst CGI is seldom used in the film, and in these scenes it is minimal, it still does not compliment an otherwise beautifully filmed flick.

Eastwood is unable to bring his cast together and perhaps he has relied on DiCaprio too much and he is an exceptional talent but not even he can save the film. There is Oscar talk for the leading man which is fair enough but there will be no awards for Dirty Harry, the remaining cast or writer.  

Verdict;

A very generous 3 out of 5. If it wasn’t for DiCaprio and Dench, or the double D’s as I know they like to be called these days, we would be down to 2 out of 5.