Back home

J. Edgar

2496 votes

As the face of law enforcement in the United States for almost 50 years, J. Edgar Hoover was feared and admired, reviled and revered. But behind closed doors, he held secrets that would have destroyed his image, his career, and his life.

Status: Released

Released Date: 2011-11-09

Runtime: 137 mins

Director: Clint Eastwood

Writer: Dustin Lance Black

Spoken language: English

Genres: Drama, Crime, History

Original title: J. Edgar

Production Companies: Imagine Entertainment, Malpaso Productions, Wintergreen Productions, Warner Bros. Pictures

Production Countries: United States of America

Cast

Leonardo DiCaprio

Armie Hammer

Naomi Watts

Josh Lucas

Josh Hamilton

Judi Dench

Geoff Pierson

Gunner Wright

Dermot Mulroney

Kaitlyn Dever

Adam Driver

Ed Westwick

Jessica Hecht

Denis O'Hare

Reviews

GenerationofSwine

My only real complaint about Leonardo DiCaprio is that he looks like, well, Leonardo DiCaprio and that is a shame given that given that he doesn't play Lenardo DiCaprio, he plays whoever the script says he is and we all think he's the greatest thing since sliced bread because of that. Except in J. Edgar where, for the first real time, DiCaprio doesn't look like DiCaprio, he looks a lot like the cross-dressing fascist he's portraying. And being Leo, he acts like him too. THANK YOU. For once the studio didn't bank on his face and it paid out. So we not only get to see Leo acting the part, but for the first time we get to really see him looking the part too and the last time he did that was in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape." And on top of it all we have Clint Eastwood directing and, honestly, not a fan of him as an actor, love him as a director. Given his politics I walked in thinking Right Wing Love Story...I walked out with "honest depiction" and that helps a lot. Not only does that help, but the scandal around Hoover's sexuality was done appropriately, that is to say it didn't take center stage, J. Edgar did...and, as I said, you were watching J. Edgar and not Leo doing his best to be the man while having to still look like himself. it's just a win all around...except it could have benefited for time. Trim it down a bit. I know he's hugely important to history and Eastwood is a great director with a great cast but...it got a bit long in the tooth at places and that hurt the flow of the film.

2023-01-14

r96sk

A bit of a bore, is <em>'J. Edgar'</em>. Leonardo DiCaprio puts in a very good performance as the titular character and his co-stars are all solid, but I just found the way that the story is told to be lacklustre. There aren't, at least for me, any memorable scenes and I wasn't invested in the plot at any point really. It's semi-watchable, but goes on for too long to be passably so. It does, as noted, have a neat cast list, with Armie Hammer, Naomi Watts and Judi Dench, among others, involved behind DiCaprio. I think they all give their best, with any issues I have with this 2011 release being away from them. Two duds in a row to start the 2010s from Mr. Eastwood; in my humble opinion, of course.

2022-02-12

Recommendations

Ki Hadjar Dewantara

A biopic of former Indonesian Education Minister, Ki Hadjar Dewantara.

3.6

Saving Face

2004-09-12

A Chinese-American lesbian and her traditionalist mother are reluctant to go public with secret love

3.3

Loving Annabelle

2007-05-24

Annabelle is the wise-beyond-her-years newcomer to an exclusive Catholic girls school. Having been e

2.1

3-Day Weekend

2008-06-03

Long-term couple Simon and Jason, along with daddy-ish Cooper and his boy du jour, escape to a mount

2.9

The Executioner's Song

1982-09-10

In this fact-based made-for TV film, Gary Gilmore, an Indiana man who just finished serving a length

2.6

Summer Lovers

1982-07-16

Michael Pappas and his girlfriend, Cathy, are enjoying the white sand beaches of a Greek island as w

3.2

The Laramie Project

2002-01-10

"The Laramie Project" is set in and around Laramie, Wyoming, in the aftermath of the murder of 21-ye

3.6

She Said

2022-11-17

New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor break one of the most important stories in a g

3.1

Big Eden

2000-04-18

Henry Hart is a young gay artist living in New York City. When his grandfather has a stroke, Henry p

3.1

Mobsters

1991-07-26

The story of a group of friends in turn of the century New York, from their early days as street hoo

Folle d'amore - Alda Merini

2023-12-01

3.5

Will There Really Be a Morning?

1983-02-22

This is the story of actress Frances Farmer, her struggles with mental illness and involuntary confi

Don't Look at Me That Way

2016-06-16

Hedi is the new neighbor of Iva, who raises her daughter Sofia by herself. The two women start a rel

0.5

Swingin'

2020-10-23

When sixth-grader boy Qiu is bullied in school for having gay dads, his stepfather Howard, a flamboy

2.6

A Skeleton in the Closet

2020-08-24

Manuel goes back to his hometown for his parents’ wedding anniversary, but he actually wants to ask

Prayers for Bobby

2009-01-24

Bobby Griffith was his mother's favorite son, the perfect all-American boy growing up under deeply r

3.6

The Damned United

2009-03-27

Taking over Leeds United, Brian Clough's abrasive approach and his clear dislike of the players' dir

Molokai: The Story of Father Damien

1999-03-17

The true story of the 19th century Belgian priest, Father Damien, who volunteered to go to the islan

3.5

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral

1957-05-30

Lawman Wyatt Earp and outlaw Doc Holliday form an unlikely alliance which culminates in their partic

3.4

Reach for the Sky

1956-07-05

The true story of airman Douglas Bader who overcame the loss of both legs in a 1931 flying accident