Flash Movie Review: J. Edgar
A stellar performance by Leonardo diCaprio in this new Clint Eastwood movie is enough reason to see it; albeit, it may be the only reason to do so. I was enthralled with Leonardo’s acting–the look, the speech, the mannerisms–it is Oscar worthy in my opinion. On the down side, the script was weak and a bit silly to me. Keep in mind, this movie was based on a true story about J. Edgar Hoover and I felt the writer (Dustin Lance Black) took liberties in telling the story, drawing it out more than it needed to be. In regards to Mr. Eastwood’s directing, I was getting somewhat distracted from the constant jumps in time frames. And what was the point of shooting the film so dark, with sharp black and white contrasts? I felt Clint was trying to capture an arty, film noir style and all it did was annoy me. But with all that being said, you should go and see Leonardo in this role–it is amazing.
2 3/4 stars
moviejoltz 
I found my curiosity piqued after seeing J. Edgar and find a great deal of speculation about the real nature of his relationship with Tolson… at least on the internet. I found it interesting that Dustin Lance Black chose to write this as something of a love story. There is little speculation in the screen play that Hoover was a repressed gay man who lived out his love in a tortured approach to Tolson… and that Tolson payed a high price for it with the slightest signs of affection as evidence that he was loved. I would like to have seen a bit more depth in treating the motivations behind Hoover’s tactics of illegal collecting of blackmail information on so many in public life. I found the portrayal of Nixon rather distracting…