J. Edgar (2011)

John Edgar Hoover was the Director of the FBI from 1935–72 as well as instrumental in its founding. He was an incredibly secretive and powerful man, holding information and documents that prevented other more important political figures from removing him from office. Many of the things he did could be considered paranoid or an invasion of privacy (or controversially less than legal). His personal life was even more questioned than his ethics, as he lived the majority of it with his mother and remained a lifelong bachelor with seemingly no involvement with women. There were many rumors of his closeted homosexuality, something which he was outspoken against. 

His complex life and the founding of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (formerly without the Federal) is the focus of Clint Eastwood’s movie and the story is told entirely from Hoover’s point of view as he dictates his early days to be written down as a memoir. The entire plot unfolds as a web of deceit and political intrigue that spanned several presidencies. Clint Eastwood seamlessly edits back and forth between the different time periods showing the old and young J. Edgar Hoover dealing with organized crime, communist plots, and the formation of the FBI. Hoover is obsessed with details and appearances, all of which relate back to his own repressed sexuality and relationship with his domineering mother (played by Judi Dench because what kind of period drama doesn’t have Judi Dench in it?) who, when referring to homosexuals, lovingly tells him that she’d “rather have a dead son than a daffodil.” Everything in his life must look the part. Each FBI agent must be a white, clean-shaved, well-dressed college graduate. This goes double for himself, and it leads him to the hiring of his personal secretary Helen Gandy (Naomi Watts), with whom he shares a long and strictly platonic relationship with. Though this was probably clear to her from one of their early dates in which he showed her how well he catalogued a library before proposing marriage. He must be seen as the personification of the FBI, taking every advantage of being portrayed in the media as the man who personally took down criminals like John Dillinger and “Machine Gun Kelly”. He even goes as far as to punish Melvin Purvis for being the actual agent to shoot Dillinger and receive the credit. The other important relationship in his life is with his second in command Clyde Tolson (Armie Hammer). Although they’re obviously in love, it’s an impossible relationship the nature of which I doubt he ever truly admitted to himself. The portrayal of it is shown as chaste and instead they’re forced to be intimately close friends that share nearly every moment together.

Leonardo DiCaprio as J. Edgar Hoover

Running alongside the formation of the FBI, we’re shown his obsession with secrets and knowing everything about your enemies (which he believes are everywhere). The slightest criticism leads him to see conspiracies and get authorizations for wire-tapping without a warrant. Without strongly condoning or condemning his actions, the story focuses mainly on the life of a troubled and extremely powerful man. He’s shown to be ruled by the way his mother wants him to be and conceals his own secrets with the knowledge of everyone else’s, while the files he keeps for blackmail are numerous. 

Much as you might expect from a Clint Eastwood film, everything has a cold grey look to it, which is particularly noticeable during the flashbacks. The entire movie uses this to tone the story to match the emotionally introverted main character. It maintains its cold and almost objective stance for the majority of the movie, though still keeps it feeling as personal due to J. Edgar Hoover’s telling of his own story (which may or may not be highly exaggerated). The acting is strong from the cast and Leonardo DiCaprio gives a powerful and nuanced performance, capturing the little emotions without forcing them onto the screen. I think he’s actually much more believable and suited to this character than he was as Howard Hughes in The Aviator. What’s probably the weakest aspect of the movie is the old person make-up used on the main characters. While it looks convincing on Leonardo DiCaprio, the same can’t be said for Armie Hammer who looks like he’s wearing a rubber mask. This is a minor complaint and in no way detracts from what is otherwise an intense and interesting character study.  

J. Edgar is an intriguing look into the life of a man whose entire being was about secrecy and power. It may not tell you of the inner workings of his mind, but that might be something he wasn’t aware of either.