Public Hero, Private Enemy

J. Edgar

**1/2 out of ****

Directed by: Clint Eastwood

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Armie Hammer, Naomi Watts, Judi Dench and Josh Lucas

Running time: 137 minutes

There’s something fascinating about having the man who embodied the archetype of the corrupt cop in the Dirty Harry films direct a biographical picture about prolific FBI director J. Edgar Hoover.

At first glance, the two figures seem to be character foils. But upon reflection of watching Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar, there is much common ground between Frisco’s gritty six-shooter and America’s white knight of crime. They both pursue justice and are committed to doing the right thing, even if that means going beyond proper jurisdiction.

But J. Edgar is far from a rough, gnarly, unapologetic action film in the Clint Eastwood (and Harry Callahan) tradition; instead, it’s a safe, chaste, insightful history lesson about one of the 20th century’s most remarkable and controversial figures. In other words, it's an ordinary dissection of an extraordinary American.

Hoover is played by Leonardo DiCaprio, who is more convincing than the patchy makeup work pasted on him implies. In the midst of having his memoirs transcribed by a collective of writers, an aged Hoover tries to sum up his rich legacy - one that made him what many considered to be the second-most powerful man in America underneath every administration from Coolidge to Nixon.

J. Edgar picks and chooses the highlights of his biography, from his rise to fame as an impassioned Justice Department advisor, who led planned raids against riotous Bolshevik groups, to a towering figure in crime-fighting during a time where gangsters were the most glorified stars in the newspapers and on the big screen. He also fought for and approved a centralized fingerprint system, which has certainly paid dividends for any police force or television network with a cop procedural currently airing.

Beyond his most prolific cases, notably the murder of John Dillinger and the manhunt for Charles Lindbergh’s kidnapped child, J. Edgar focuses on the many ironies that made up the man’s life.

Although he was a moral man who strictly disciplined his officers, he had no problem keeping a few confidential documents handy in case he needed to bring down the governments of the era. Although he worked hard to maintain a public image as an all-American hero, he was an isolated, closeted recluse with few friends and confidantes.

Among this modest number of acquaintances was his personal assistant, the dapper Clyde Tolsson (Armie Hammer), and the film - written by Milk scribe Dustin Lance Black - suggests that this burgeoning friendship was one of a homoerotic nature. Hoover was also a sheltered ‘mama’s boy,’ intimidated by his domineering mother, Annie (a stellar Judi Dench), who rarely glowed in appreciation of her son’s accomplishments.

While J. Edgar Hoover looked into the country’s secrets, he had difficulty confronting his own. This is intriguing, yet unfortunate for a biographical film whose purpose is supposed to confront its subject's legacy.

Regardless, DiCaprio is solid here, although his range is notably less impressive than it was in Martin Scorsese’s terrific 2004 historical biopic, The Aviator. As a young man, he encompasses the stalwart crime-fighter's electrifying drive to justice. Recounting tales of catching gangsters underneath mounds of old man makeup, however, DiCaprio’s voice still has a youthful verve and confidence. In these bizarre segments, Hoover sounds like a 30-year-old but looks like Jack Nicholson.

One wishes that J. Edgar would have chronicled the changes in the man himself with as much keen insight as it recalls how he revolutionized criminal justice in America. Most biographical films stress the character first before the history, although J. Edgar bucks this trend: it is more of a richly acted museum display or history lesson than it is an engaging character study.

Although some of the ironies mentioned above are intriguing, there is a stunning lack of personality in Black's script. In the film, the young men working on Hoover’s memoirs are trying to figure out whether or not the American legend was a hero or a villain. The film makes the case for both; however, it may have been more potent if it had only pursued one of these characterizations.