J. Edgar

Saw the new Clint Eastwood movie today. A tremendous disappointment as the over-use of flashbacks and flash-forwards drained any sort of dramatic tension out of the movie. The aging prosthetics for most of the cast were not always successful. Lots of good acting - and delighted to see Zach Grenier and Aaron Lazar in small but noticeable roles.

Updated On: 11/15/11 at 08:37 PM

Zero. Interest.

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I thought it was one of the longest movies I have been through. I may have set my expectations too high with the cast and Eastwood at the helm, but if this gets any Oscar noms other than set dressing or costumes, it must be a very slow year.

I thought it was OK. I thought DiCaprio and Hammer had some good moments together, and I am a big fan of Judi Dench and thought she did a decent job as J Edgar's mother. My biggest frustration with the film was it jumped back and forth from the past to the present somewhat randomly. Just when I was getting interested in something on screen, there would be another time shift. I agree that this is an Oscar bait type of movie, but I doubt it will get a lot of attention come awards season.

I went back to get a complete list of Eastwood's directorships and he has done 35 films. I liked Unforgiven, Space Cowboys, Million Dollar Baby, Absolute Power and Invictus, and I had no reason to expect that the shortcomings in any of his films were due to his direction. But I would have to say that he may have difficulty when he choses vehicles - witness Gran Torino. He needs to get someone to advise him on his scripts!

To each their own. To be fair, Eastwood has managed to master the very basic rudiments of filmmaking in ways that have eluded alleged visionaries like Rob Marshall and Zack Snyder, but I've never seen an Eastwood film that I felt was worth the time it took to sit through it, especially the surrealistically overrated UNFORGIVEN and MILLION DOLLAR BABY.

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I agree with much of the above. The time-shifting was overdone. The aging makeup was overdone. And typically Eastwood, the picture was gloomy and shadowy.

I did, however, like how they handled the relationship between Hoover and Tolson (delightful performance by Armie Hammer). Although it is quite clear that they were in a relationship, certain aspects were left unsaid and unseen. They lived in a time when there was no "gay" as we know it now. And it I think this treatment was appropriate.

WSJ's Speakeasy colum: Was Hoover Gay? ‘J. Edgar’ Screenwriter Dustin Lance Black Opens His Files
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/11/04/was-hoover-gay-j-edgar-screenwriter-dustin-lance-black-opens-his-files/?mod=google_news_blog

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