J. Edgar Review: The World’s Bleakest Daffodil

I have a lot of passions in life. One of them (movies) is what has me writing these reviews but another is American History. Therefore, you can probably imagine my excitement anytime I learn of an upcoming movie that tackles the subject of any great person or event from American History. It’s like heroin for me and its definitely a genre that isn’t produced as often as it could or should.

That being said, imagine the pants-wetting giddiness I felt when I learned that Clint Eastwood himself would be directing a biopic of the mysterious J. Edgar Hoover starring Leonardo DiCaprio with a script by Dustin Lance Black of Oscar-winning Milk fame. That trio of talent is almost too good to be true and should have yielded a classic just by putting them in a room together with a camera. Alas, that seems to be what they thought too because the resulting film, J. Edgar, is a missed opportunity to tries to do so much and ends up doing almost nothing.

It goes without saying that biopics are a tricky beast. Condensing down someone’s life into an entertaining two hours is a daunting task for even the most mundane character but for a man like Hoover who revolutionized criminal investigations, made the FBI what it is today, served under eight presidents, had a penchant for tawdry secrets, and may or may not have been a gay cross-dresser, the task seems impossible. There is honestly enough material in this man’s life to warrant a John Adams-esque HBO miniseries but instead, Black’s screenplay tries to horn all of it into one little bundle that was destined to disappoint.

That’s not to say that watching J. Edgar is a painful experience. It is actually full of many insightful and occasionally funny moments that will tell you more about Mr. Hoover and his times than you ever thought you cared to know. But it’s effort to jump around from 1919 to 1972 while covering everything in between leaves you cold to the specifics. With some editing there is actually a great film within J. Edgar about the kidnapping of the Lindbergh Baby and how Hoover used this case to enhance the FBI’s power and revolutionize the art of criminal investigations, but it is only a token of the entire ground covered. Maybe if they had taken an approach like The Queen and focused only on this one snapshot era of Hoover’s life we might have come away knowing more about him instead of trying to take in the whole canvass at once.

Instead the film tries to also tell us about his early days fighting communists; the blackmailing of figures like Eleanor Roosevelt, JFK, and Martin Luther King Jr.; his growing misuse of the law over time; as well his complicated and mysterious relationships with his mother (Judi Dench), his secretary (Naomi Watts), and most importantly, his second-in-command/potential lover, Clyde Tolson (Armie Hammer).

And there we have the elephant in the room: Mr. Tolson. There has been an endless amount of speculation over the years that he and Hoover shared a very intimate relationship and thought of each other as life partners. These rumors also include the eyebrow-raising allegation that Hoover also enjoyed the occasional donning of women’s clothing and when openly gay screenwriter Dustin Lance Black signed on for this project I think we all just assumed that these aspects of Hoover’s life would be dealt with in a substantial way.

It is possible that these elements were a strong force in the screenplay and then diminished by choices Eastwood made as a director but either way what ended up on screen is a slightly confusing vision that tries to have it both ways. In some instances their relationship is hinted at with nudges, winks, and small touches and that may well be the appropriate line of action since, after all, none of the rumors about them have ever been proven true. But at other times the emotional exchange between them is shown to be incredibly fierce without any real context to make us care or really even understand their dynamic. We are basically shown that Tolson had undying affection for Hoover but never really know where Hoover’s feelings lie. In some scenes he seems prepared to die if it means living without Tolson but in others he seems to be heeding his mother’s stern words, “I’d rather have a dead son than a daffodil for a son.” I have no doubt that he would have had this conflict in the era that he lived but unless the film was prepared to tackle the issue more wholeheartedly, maybe it should have remained only hinted at.

Unfortunately, the film’s failings don’t end with its meandering, unfocused storyline. It also suffers visually from Eastwood’s choice to give the film the same dull, desaturated color palette that has become his go-to choice with other period dramas like Flags of Our Fathers and Changeling. This color treatment has become almost cliche at this point and many scenes are just blatantly dark and ugly.

And I hate to say it but there are also moments where the film wades into areas of unintentional comedy thanks to a sometimes emotionally cheesy musical score (by Eastwood himself), some wonky old age makeup, and cringe-inducing performances from some smaller roles including Jeffrey Donovan as Bobby Kennedy.

On the positive side DiCaprio and Hammer are both really strong in their respective roles, though maybe not Oscar caliber as some have been saying. DiCaprio in particular is notable for the massive age range he is able to pull off while making it look easy. We’ve seen him do this to a lesser extent in Catch Me If You Can and The Aviator but here he takes it to a whole new level and proves once again why he is one of Hollywood’s most reliable and talented actors.

Dench is wonderful as always in her limited screentime but Watts seems a little bit lost in her role although I’m not sure if it was her fault or merely some of the clunky, wooden lines she was given.

I hate sounding too harsh on a movie like J. Edgar while throngs of Americans throw their money away on trash like Jack and Jill this weekend, but it is an unfortunate misfire from a talented group of people that probably should have produced something much more cohesive and powerful than what we got. Fans of DiCaprio and American History will find enough here to pacify two hours of viewing, but casual viewers will benefit by waiting for a cheaper rental option a few months from now. Perhaps one day we’ll see a more comprehensive and exploratory version of Hoover’s life on screen, but until then I thank Eastwood and Black for trying.

Grade: C+

Images courtesy of Warner Brothers Pictures.