J. Edgar

My Grade:  C+

Clint Eastwood directing, Leonardo DiCaprio starring, and up-and-comer Armie Hammer (The Social Network) supporting… should be a great film.  Unfortunately it’s just an alright film.  There are some good things but there are also a lot of bad things which is a big letdown.  This film was thought to get some Oscar buzz until people saw it.  That’s not to say it’s a horrible film; many good films don’t get Oscars.  But mediocre films seem to never get them.

The reason to watch this film is Leonardo DiCaprio.  He is almost always good and certainly doesn’t disappoint in J Edgar.  This portrayal of Hoover is a very complex and well developed character that would be a challenge to portray to the fullest extent.  DiCaprio does.  He is powerful, vulnerable, egotistical, caring, and more than a little creepy. His relationship with his mother reminds me a little of Normand Bates from Psycho.  I’m not sure whether they were going for that or not, but it works in J Edgar.  Besides DiCaprio’s complex performance and a few memorable scenes (held together by DiCaprio), the rest of the film is acceptable (except for a few things we will get to later).  Acceptable is not what I expect from Eastwood.

If you have read any of my reviews, you know I have to comment on story, and this one isn’t great.  It is a little bit of a challenge to tinker with stories like J Edgar when they are based on real people in history, but this film seems needlessly complicated.  The way it jumps around in time makes sense in the story because of the frame-story style it employs; but I am unable to see what the non-linear style adds to any aspect of the film. Simply telling Hoover’s story as it unfolds would have worked just as well and would have seemed less meandering in parts.  After the slow beginning, however, the story starts to pull the audience in a little more, but it never fully had me.  I was intrigued enough to keep watching, but not thrilled, excited, nervous, or anything else.  Great stories create emotional responses; J Edgar doesn’t.

Now I have to mention something that I don’t think I have ever mentioned in a review… makeup.  Because this story takes place across more than 40 years, Eastwood had to decide whether to use different actors as the characters age or to use makeup.  I am glad he chose to use makeup instead of other actors (especially since few actors could pull of Hoover the way DiCaprio does), and the makeup is pretty good for DiCaprio and Naomi Watts (Hoover’s Secretary).  Armie Hammer, however, looks like he is wearing a mask.  I know he is wearing a mask, but he isn’t supposed to look like he is.  I literally had to stifle a laugh when I first saw the old version of Clyde Tolson (Hammer).  Also, despite being younger than Hoover, the makeup makes him look considerably older.

Another troublesome element in this film is the lighting. You know when you see a movie and there is a scene at night but you can still see what’s going on and which characters are doing what?  Well, J Edgar is different.  In many of the night scenes, actors’ faces are completely in shadow and everything seems to be a silhouette.  Even in some of the day scenes, someone will be in front of a bright window and the audience is unable to see their face.  Sometimes this would be a cool effect, but not for the entire movie.   The only thing I can think of that would make this okay is if the shadows and silhouettes are supposed to symbolize the darkness in Hoover’s life and all the secrets he hides.  I don’t buy it, though.  I just think the gaffer was unsure of how to use a key light.  I even heard a woman in the audience behind me say this exact phrase during the film:  “It’s so dark.”  She may have been talking about the subject matter, but I don’t think so.

Overall, the acting is strong (Especially DiCaprio) but the story is somewhat slow and needlessly complex.  Most of the makeup is well done except for Armie Hammer’s (which is understandable to a point because he is the youngest main cast member) and the lighting leaves some questions.  This review makes it sound a little worse than it actually is, but I would not suggest seeing it in theaters.  It is well worth the dollar or two it takes to rent it from Redbox, but not $10.50.