‘J. Edgar’
3/5 Pitchforks
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Armie Hammer and Naomi Watts
Rated: R
Released: Nov. 11
Reputations have a way of getting the best of us at times. Sometimes they’re justifiable, while others can prove to be more flash than substance. In the case of “J. Edgar,” which opened nationwide on Friday, Nov. 11, reputations and substance are not in short supply.
If ever there was ever any flash for the real-life John Edgar Hoover, it is instead replaced with a dryly-presented historical lecture and visual timeline filled with facts. The film takes great liberties in making a biography of the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
For over two hours, the audience is fed events that they either historically knew took place or think we knew enough about to assume what went on behind closed doors.
The facts are presented the only director Clint Eastwood can: by utilizing the hazy, shadowy effect he loves so much. For those who want to know how far DiCaprio can take a character with severe mother-son and personal sexuality issues, you get that too.
There’s no denying the talents or past accomplishments of the cast or crew, but the film “J. Edgar” lacks a cohesive element that utilizes everyone’s unique talents effectively — namely, a story to get behind.
In the end, this is nothing more than a recounting of a series of events of one of America’s most polarizing figures in history. Occasionally, the story jumps from past to present in an attempt to give the film a pulse of some kind, but the audience is left with far too much to digest.
One of the more fitting undertones of the film is the effect paranoia and power can have on an individual, along with the pull that they can muster from those around them. As true as it was for Hoover in his day, perpetual fear and the need to know everything — while revealing nothing — permeates relentlessly through our country.
Reach the reporter at jbfortne@asu.edu
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