Political Indifference

by Thomas Willett

1:00pm PST, November 16, 2011

During J. Edgar, the titular character (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) turns to his assistant and asks him who is the most popular man of the 21st century. When J. Edgar Hoover confidently states that he is, the movie raises a thesis that it barely attempts to answer. A lot has been said about the man who rose to the ranks of director of the FBI and restored justice in America for 50 years. Director Clint Eastwood is as interested in his achievements as he is the personal life, which results in an uneven mess.

The movie attempts to detail Hoover’s entire life in two hours. From his relationship with his mother (Judi Dench) to an ambiguous relationship with Clyde Tolson (Armie Hammer), his private life takes the focus for the majority of the movie. It tries to explain why Hoover was sexually repressed and frustrated, but fails to show how the relationships were significant to his work. While the moments he shares with his mother should be bittersweet, it leaves the viewer wanting to see the public Hoover that achieved advancement against crimes and gave the FBI a more prominent face in the media.

When the story does decide to focus on the public Hoover, it begins to get interesting. From the early days of gaining respect to the central story of solving the Lindbergh kidnapping, the forwardness that he displayed as a leader captured an interesting portrayal of government ethics before and after. His ability to dedicate time and money into solving cases and creating files on citizens is such an interesting change in the way government works that it’s a shame the story doesn’t focus entirely on this issue.

It is also distracting when the story decides to use narration to connect incongruent scenes. A lot of the scenes jump back and forth between decades to show the various stages of Hoover and how his dedicated nature never died. Because of his vast accomplishments, it stalls in finding a consistent tone and often leaves the viewer confused. While the aging make-up used on Hoover helps to establish the time difference, the transitions are done so poorly that some continuity goes unnoticed due to lack of expectations.

This is a movie that needs a lot of work done to it. It was made to present Hoover as this great man, but spends most of the time portraying his flawed private life and undermining his success. Writer Dustin Lance Black’s previous effort, Milk, managed to better portray its subject with respect and make the conclusion have impact. In comparison, the representation of Hoover’s homosexual tendencies are seen as vignettes that go nowhere. While the relationship is performed earnestly by DiCaprio and Hammer, the bad dialog keeps them from really developing into a believable relationship. By not integrating more of the social impact, it loses any possibility of creating a meaningful biography.

The movie also fails to capture a proper dramatic tone as the story gets dark. Eastwood created the score, which is nothing more than a few piano notes played many seconds apart. It comes across as a parody of minimalist performance and is distracting from the tension building on screen. At times, it’s almost comical, while at other times it’s frustrating. It is also the most blatant proof that maybe there wasn’t enough effort put into this story.

What this movie needed was a central focus. A lot of interesting potential could be seen in the Lindbergh kidnapping trial. If the story had focused entirely on that case, it would’ve given it more impact and kept it from being time jumps connected by bad transitions and voice-over. While Eastwood has show his capability as a director in the past, his effort here is easily forgettable. There’s good enough performances to show what could have been, but mixed in with poor writing and scene choices, there’s no chance of those moments garnering acclaim. J. Edgar is a movie that sets out to explain the importance of one man without a good reason why.