J. Edgar

No matter how controversial the man was, there is no question that J. Edgar Hoover accomplished a mighty thing. As the founding director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation he was one of the most powerful men in the country and ran the bureau for over 37 years. He created a centralized record keeping system, pioneered forensics, and developed relationships with leading law enforcement agencies across the states. He also made it cool to be a G-Man helping to quash the romantic image of the mobster and placing the most famous of them into prison.

J. Edgar, as directed by Clint Eastwood, depicts Mr. Hoover warts and all. Portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio he is shown as a man with tremendous skills for organization and leadership, but with a lot of personal issues and insecurities. I’m sure that the intent was to give a full well-rounded portrait, but in my opinion some of these so-called ascertainable facts are unproven. It is difficult or impossible to know what goes on behind closed doors.  It may be fun to speculate, but it is also unfair.

As someone who loves history and who is a big fan of bio-pics, I did enjoy the film. But I also noticed that the audience around me thought it was very slow. I don’t mind slow if it’s interesting but I do agree that the film could have been tighter. Leonardo’s performance is very good and Armie Hamer is also excellent as Clyde Tolson, J. Edgar’s right hand man. Naomi Watts is equally good as the faithful Helen Gandy. She knew where all the bodies were buried and still remained loyal until his death. That says something about both of them.

In order to tell the story, the narrative jumps back and forth from the past to the present. The present being the time that J. Edgar Hoover begins his memoirs. When caught up we then move forward to his death and the end of era. Looking back over his life he accomplished many things. But people like to emphasize the more controversial parts. We seem to live in a time of backlash. Our heroes have let us down so often that we now feel it is necessary to grind them under our feet.

J.Edgar kept many secrets in his life and protected many others from public shame. He was hated and feared by the most famous and powerful because he catalogued their sins and wasn’t above using the information. Now the spotlight is on him and it will be interesting to see how he is viewed in a hundred years from now. The facts will remain the same, but how we view them is subjective. I’m sure that J. Edgar would prefer that the facts speak for themselves. He was a man of vision who loved his country and used every tool at his disposal to protect it. It will be up to history to decide if he went too far. In the meantime he’s left us the F.B.I. a crime fighting legacy to be proud of.

Rating: Bargain Matinee J. Edgar warts and all