J EDGAR (Clint Eastwood)

-

If there's a message Clint Eastwood's J. EDGAR successfully conveys, it is this: even monsters have goodness in their hearts, no matter how wrong their methods of achieving ends may be. Eastwood masterfully directs a fairly-presented biopic based on a screenplay by Dustin Lance Black (MILK), while Leonardo DiCaprio gives his all and achieves a lot covering his character's beliefs and inner conflicts, though he has given better performances in previous films (SHUTTER ISLAND is one example).

The focus primarily of J. EDGAR is the controversial FBI head's contributions to modern law enforcement, and the price he paid for it, both cementing his status as a relevant icon of history. We see J. Edgar Hoover's unwavering allegiance to the American flag, and the many times his ideas seemed farfetched, to the point of utter rejection, yet the script is intent on proving that Hoover was right most of these times, with all his seemingly absurd notions about surveillance, forensics, and the works.

At the same time, the film also includes the darker side of J. Edgar Hoover in order to show contrast, but most importantly, transparency- his repressed homosexuality, his Oedipal relationship with his mother, his hunger for public approval, even his obsessive-compulsive disorder- all of those are here. We remember the man as a monster, a control freak, and a villainous G-MAN that no president can touch, but Clint Eastwood's careful and balanced treatment of his subject matter portrays J. Edgar Hoover as an actual human being with a benefit of the doubt.

A few supporting characters saw Edgar as more than an authoritative monster: his trustworthy secretary Helen Gandy (Naomi Watts) treated him with respect and admiration, but most importantly, loyalty; his mother (Judi Dench) adored and believed in his son, and supported him all the way (hence that breakdown scene following her death where DiCaprio does a Norman Bates and cross dresses, minus the knife), and most importantly; Clyde Tolson (Arnie Hammer), his number two man, who was in love with him, and whom he also loves, but in a strained, complicated way. Eastwood presents of Hoover and Tolson's homosexuality, but the film does not dwell too long on the subject, which is a smart move because it avoids prejudice.

By presenting these three closest characters to Hoover, Eastwood wants us to see Hoover the way they did: without predispositions, and with complete or at least adequate knowledge of his beliefs, qualms, and challenges. 

There is a lot of effort done on making DiCaprio resemble J. Edgar Hoover, what with the hair and makeup and the accent, in which Philip Seymour Hoffman comes to mind, who could have easily donned the shoes so well. DiCaprio does his best and makes for a decent enough J. EDGAR, but I still could not shake the idea of how it would look like with Seymour Hoffman in the role, especially when they look exactly alike once DiCaprio plays Hoover in his later age.

RATING: 4/5

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ANINO SA LIKOD NG BUWAN (Jun Lana, 2015)

-
Image
* English title "Shadow behind the Moon" The best term to describe Jun Lana's latest film would be a cinematic charade- a game of identities, of motives, of suppressed passions, and of uncertainty. Or the film equivalent of a Russian doll, if you will. "Anino sa Likod ng Buwan" only has three characters- husband and wife Nando (Anthony Falcon) and Emma (LJ Reyes) and military man Joel (Luis Alandy). What started as a seemingly routine banter among friends gradually and intensely escalated into an examination of society, where the definition of immorality is blurred during a time of insurgency.  And in fact, the film does discuss the subject of immorality from various paradigms. When does adultery become acceptable, and to whom? Is sexual liberation more heinous than murder? Why is immorality always a double standard? The film plays out the ideas in endless games. Or are they really games at all? Lana could have stopped there, but he didn...
Read more

TUHOG (Jeffrey Jeturian)

-
Image
Film within a film-structured movies are always interesting watch. Not only do they provide a much-needed deconstruction of form and content of cinema itself, but also that much-needed emotional punch a cinephile would surely love.  Like in BAD EDUCATION (Almodovar, 2004), we witness the characters tell the back story via montage, as if we are part of the cast of characters watching an actual movie. The form was successful in evoking pain and regret, and also of empathy. In TUHOG, Jeffrey Jeturian and screenwriter Bing Lao tackles sensational media in the Philippines, especially in cinema. The film opens as a film producer hears a pitch for a possible movie- a story of a grandfather who rapes his own granddaughter.  The director of the film soon after visits the victim of the crime, Floring (Ina Raymundo). Coercing both she and her mother, Perla (Irma Adlawan) to sell them the movie rights to their story, we witness as exploitation cinema unfolds. To think of it, capitaliz...
Read more

BIGKIS (Neal Tan, 2014)

-
Image
As an advocacy film, BIGKIS (INTERTWINED) gets its message across. The state of maternal healthcare in the Philippines is downright depressing, with mothers seated on the floor of public hospitals due to shortage of beds, medical equipment and hospital staff. The baby better be gaping through the birth canal before the mother receives serious medical attention.  Such social issue has been featured countless times in local documentaries and even in a feature film (2011's BAHAY BATA), but BIGKIS pushes the envelope further by bridging a connection between mother and child by means of breastfeeding, and in doing so, promoting breastfeeding in the process.  As a drama, the film tends to squeeze too much tragedy from the downtrodden lives of its characters that a lot of the dialogue feels staged for us to feel sorry for their countless miseries. Mariel (LJ Reyes), a teenage mother deals with an unwanted pregnancy and worse, the abandonment of her baby's father (Pancho ...
Read more