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Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino) directs Leonardo DiCaprio as J. Edgar Hoover, the face of law enforcement in America for almost...
Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino) directs Leonardo DiCaprio as J. Edgar Hoover, the face of law enforcement in America for almost 50 years.
Hoover was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he stubbornly remained director until his death in 1972. A figure of fear and admiration, over the course of his career he empowered law enforcers and created a legacy of surveillance starting with the cataloguing of American fingerprints. Some of Hoover's more controversial tactics, including the compiling of secret dossiers on the eight Presidents he served, led to future FBI leaders being limited to 10-year tenures. Behind the scenes, he held professional and private secrets that would have destroyed his career.
Judi Dench plays Hoover's mother, Naomi Watts plays his secretary, and The Social Network's Arnie Hammer his close friend and confidant, Clyde Tolson. The screenplay is written by Dustin Lance Black (Milk).
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Where to watch J. Edgar
44 %242 reviewsRotten Tomatoes® rating
44 %40,195 reviewsAudience score rating
"Any movie in which the longtime FBI honcho features as the central character must supply some insight into what made him tick, or suffer from the reality that the Bureau's exploits were far more interesting than the bureaucrat who ran it - a dilemma J. Edgar never rises above."
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Variety
Variety"Some will find it ponderous and pompous... a handsome, ambitious period drama full of modern-day parallels."
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Total Film
Total Film"Mr. Eastwood doesn't just shift between Hoover's past and present, his intimate life and popular persona, he also puts them into dialectic play, showing repeatedly how each informed the other."
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The New York Times
The New York Times"A sonorous, History Channel drone."
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The Guardian
The Guardian"As a period biopic, J. Edgar is masterful. Few films span seven decades this comfortably."
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Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert"A somber, enigmatic, darkly fascinating tale, and how could it be otherwise?"
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Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times"Tackles its trickiest challenges with plausibility and good sense, while serving up a simmeringly caustic view of its controversial subject's behavior, public and private."
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Hollywood Reporter
Hollywood Reporter"A well acted but unfocused study of one of the 20th century's most colourful characters."
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Empire Magazine
Empire Magazine"Prim, respectful biography."
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A.V. Club
A.V. ClubJ. Edgar | Details
- Rating
- M, contains violence and offensive language
- Runtime
- 137
- Genre
- Drama
- Country of origin
- USA
