I have to say that J. EDGAR surpassed my expectations. Direction is assured and, despite the jagged narrative, with flashbacks and flashforwards. it generally flows. Photography is competent, screenplay likewise, and dialogue held my interest throughout, even if the central character is repellent as a human being (at times he did not seem to be one, although he had the capacity to love utterly his mother, his male lover, and his secretary). I would have liked to see more in connection to his role in the HUAC case and Hollywood, even if Senator McCarthy was the driver there, I believe Hoover also had some influence. Ultimately, the film is anchored by two superlative performances from di Caprio and Naomi Watts.

After just finishing the movie having it fresh in my mind still. I thought no better time than now to write this review. Which is my first on this particular website, usually giving suck opinions on my own webpages but many more should be expected to come from here on. Before watching this movie I thought it best to do a little refresher reading up on the boy who became the man we all know him to be. I thought this movie (which was a Movie & not a Biography Based Documentary and should be remembered when giving a review on this particular film about him) was quite on point with how they put it together, with both past & present happening at the same time bouncing from the two different eras in his life. Also being very important times in his life & career. I do love that they also showed his eccentricity without over doing it as well as the struggles with his socializing skills and speech impediment as well as his struggles inside his mind and also his trying to live up to his mother's standards & expectations but always seeming to just fall short of them. They showed how such a powerful man and well respected man, a man who made this country feel safe at some of its scariest moments and made criminals both foreign & domestic began to start thinking twice still had his internal struggles. Struggles as well with his personal life, with family and friends just like everyone else deals with (& FYI:some of his struggles were very hard to deal with, especially during that time period & especially with the job he had those struggles some couldn't even imagine or understand) but for some reason we the regular us citizen think these powerful people don't have the same issues and are perfect when it comes to normal issues cause they have important career issues their personal lives are a easy and nothing but chicken dinners and golf compared to the career struggle. When that couldn't be further from the truth, and he had to hide these personal struggles to ever be able to become who he became. Now about the actor who depicted J.Edgar Hoover, I do feel that Leonardo DiCaprio was a fine pick, the way he nails his accent and just entire demeanor and especially his facial expressions, especially when he depicts him in his elder years down to the half smile and the way he'd frown. Also another movie to add to again show how diverse Leonardo DiCaprio is as an actor and seems to nail every role that's been given to him since Titanic or in my own opinion since What's Eating Gilbert Grape.

I saw this film (finally) on Netflix and I found myself glued to the screen for two and a half hours--not entertained, exactly, but fascinated by the way that so many talented people could produce something so "not good." This movie is not really good. It's acceptable, but not special enough to deserve more than a six out of 10, and that's including two stars for the script, which was clever and concise, and that's high praise for a movie script.The problem with the movie wasn't the cast or the script, it was the director. This film needed a firm hand on the wheel but there was no such guidance. It just drifts off message and runs into the rocks. It reminded me of "Hoffa," which also featured a weird biography of a famous (infamous?) character, that was fascinating because it was so weird. "J. Edgar" desperately needed to show us something about, well, J. Edgar. It needed to demonstrate just how he rationalized his crimes and emphasized his heroism. I think the script originally attempted to do that--to show a tortured soul coming to grips with the distance between his reach and his grasp, between his actions and his motives, but the execution is off. We needed to have a pause or two in the action, where "Speedy" Hoover would slow down, or even stop, the camera could give DiCaprio an opportunity to convey the internal hurricane that could result in the man like J.Edgar Hoover. But Clint Eastwood's direction never takes a break and we speed along like a cheap tour bus of Famous Homes of Washington--never pausing to take a breath and never having the chance to imagine what it must have been like to be one of the most famous men on Earth and, also, one of the most secret.This movie was a missed opportunity. Clint Eastwood seems to produce some mighty fine motion pictures when horses, horsepower and shooting and punching are on the menu. When the evil that men do is quietly done by those wearing spiffy suits and ties, he's out of his depth. This film suffers from too many answers and not enough questions. To understand a man like Hoover, a few good questions go much further than all the bogus "answers" in the world. Somebody, at some time, during the filming of this should have made the "too on the nose" gesture and told Clint not to be so literal.

Great, reasonably balanced, biopic on a highly controversial figureA study on J Edgar Hoover, famed long-serving director of the FBI. Explores his drivers and motivations, and personal life. Told through flashbacks as he narrates his career for his biography, we see how he built the FBI from scratch, some of his higher-profile cases (eg the Lindbergh baby), his obsession with Communists and anyone else he deemed enemies of the US and his relationship with Clyde Tolson, Assistant Director of the FBI, closest confidant and more. A good study on a controversial, divisive, almost mystical, figure in US history. Not entirely complimentary, it gives a stark, and balanced, look at a very powerful, shaping force figure in US history.Great performance from Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role. Good support from Armie Hammer and Naomi Watts.