J. Edgar

When Clint Eastwood makes a movie, I watch it. If he is acting in it, that is just a bonus. The man is an accomplished filmmaker. He has two Oscars for directing (Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby) and a slew of other awards and nominations. He also is an accomplished musician and has taken to scoring a lot of his own films (Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby). Lately, you can divide his films into two categories: fictional works (Mystic River, Million Dollar baby, Gran Turino) and historical (Letters from Iwo Jima, Flags of Our Fathers, Changling, Invictus). You could also divide them into great and merely passable. His original works have been outstanding, but his historical films for some reason are just not at the same level. Eastwood’s latest film, J. Edgar, falls into the latter category on both accounts.

J. Edgar tells the story of the man that made the FBI what it is today. It follows J. Edgar Hoover (Leonardo DiCapro) from his time as an assistant in the Department of Justice under Mitchell Palmer (Geoff Pierson) up to Edgar’s death in 1972. The film opens with Edgar in what is presumably the early 1960’s, telling a fellow agent his story for a book about the FBI, beginning with the Bolshevik bombing attacks on Palmer and other key D.C. personnel in 1919. Edgar realizes the importance of finding these extremists, and develops his own group of agents who are charged with finding and deporting potential threats. Edgar then goes on to take over the DOJ from Palmer and slowly builds it into the powerful FBI that we know today.

Along the way, Edgar tries to be romantically involved with and ultimately hires his own personal secretary Helen Gandy (Naomi Watts). Together, they start files on anybody and everybody of importance in the United States, whether they are friend or foe. As he gains power, Edgar hires more agents. One of these is Clyde Tolson (Armie Hammer). It is hinted at from Clyde’s first appearance, that he and Edgar are lovers. Edgar’s mother (Dame Judi Dench) warns Edgar about his choice of companions. His love for his mother and striving for her approval causes great tension between Clyde and Edgar.

In every flashback, Edgar either gains more power or is denied it by Congress or the Attorney General. In the present day portions of the film, it shows him displaying his power to various people including FDR, RFK, MLK, and finally Richard Nixon, by way if blackmail and his “personal files.” The only real case that J. Edgar focuses on is the kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh, Jr. in 1932. This case showed the rise of forensic science. Through the wood of the ladder left behind by the kidnapper, the FBI was able to track down Bruno Hauptmann, who was convicted and executed.

All of this is well and good, but the film is hurt by a lack of pacing. J. Edgar may be one of the most boring films I have seen in a long time. On top of that, the prosthetics were really bad on the older Clyde and Helen. DiCaprio’s make-up was better, but I attribute that to the amount of screen time required for them to be on screen.

The other major drawback to J. Edgar is the story itself. It was touted to tell the story of Edgar’s love for Clyde, but it was only hinted at in the film. It seemed writer Dustin Lance Black was afraid to take it too far. Really? He won the Oscar for his Milk screenplay only three years ago. The film doesn’t really tell you about the case that made the FBI famous: Melvin Purvis killing John Dillinger. This was glanced over and almost left out all together. The only case they focused on was the Lindbergh kidnapping. The movie really did no favors to J. Edgar Hoover’s career or personal life. There was no “ah-ha” moment. For these reasons, I have a hard time trying to figure out why they made this film in the first place.

As for the acting, DiCaprio brings his A-game. Judi Dench is good enough, but I expect better. Naomi Watts is forgettable in her role. The real star is Armie Hammer, fresh off his role(s) as the Winklevoss twins in The Social Network. He really steals his scenes. The only downside to his character is the terrible make-up for his aged Clyde. The rest of the cast was full of B-level actors doing interpretations of different historical people. Jeffrey Donovan (Burn Notice) makes a terrible RFK; and Christopher Shyer is even worse in his two minutes as Nixon. There are a few other smaller actors like Stephen Root (Office Space), Damon Herriman (Justified), Josh Lucas (Sweet Home Alabama) and Dermot Mulroney (My Best Friend’s Wedding) that play their small roles well enough.

I had high hopes for J. Edgar. It boasts a huge pedigree of Academy Award winners and nominees. But, as it so often happens, too much of a good thing just does not work out in the end. Clint Eastwood should stick to doing fictional stories and shy away from historical ones. I will put a lot of the blame on editors Joel Cox and Gary Roach. Their editing made this movie move at a snail’s pace. At a bloated 137 minutes, Eastwood’s latest ranks down with last year’s terrible Hereafter.

RATING 4/10