Biopics are always challenging. As a film maker you have to absorb multiple view points of the character and look to present as much of an objective view as you can. But you are ultimately driven by your own conviction of what the person was or is. J.Edgar is the depiction of a complicated man, who had the drive to create an effective national security organization, the FBI but who, along the way rubbed many people the wrong way with the flexible boundaries that he drew for himself and the freedom he allowed himself in creating his own legend.The story begins in medias res, with an older Edgar narrating his autobiography to many FBI agents, who are well versed in typing and English. The story of his life is interspersed with events of the present and the narrative moves back and forth like intricately woven fabric. Edgar’s belief that the United States needs a robust forensic methodology leads him to head up a new group, an anti-radical division that starts cataloguing records of citizens and suspected radicals like a library catalog system. The story traces the evolution of the FBI, the setting up of its Crime Lab, the deft handling of the Lindbergh baby kidnapping and several campaigns against suspected communists, anarchists and other public enemies of the State.
His professional growth is often marred by brushes with Presidents. His career overlapped with 6 Presidents. He authorized phone taps and audio recordings of affairs of heads of state or their spouses, both hetero and homosexual in nature. He built a positive image of the agent and fed that image to popular culture through comics and movies. He is shown in this movie as a gay man, but a ‘chaste’ one who adores Clyde Tolson, who he makes his deputy in the FBI and spends most of his time with. His relationship with his mother, the dominant influence on his life forms the core of his existence as she guides everything from his eating to dressing to dancing style. He even wears her clothes after she passes on, to feel her presence in his life.
Dustin Lance Black, who wrote ‘Milk’ writes a grim screenplay that projects J.Edgar as a serious man, committed to crime eradication amidst turbulent times. His choice of weaving the past with the present was a gamble. It makes it hard for the viewer to follow the story initially, but Director Clint Eastwood blends in the transition quite well and lets the viewer put 2 and 2 together about the man. The film does well to present a balanced view of J.Edgar and allows him to be judged by Tolson and by the Presidents who were his bosses and also provides for Edgar’s rebuttal to the charges. This allows the viewer to make her own choice. Cinematographer Tom Stern, an Eastwood regular creates a grim and dark mood throughout the film in keeping with J.Edgar’s own mood at most times.
Leonardo DiCaprio does a splendid job of portraying a more rotund man from his youth right through to his death. He shows Edgar’s difficulty in avoiding the attraction to men, while stopping himself from indulging himself very well. His portrayal of Edgar’s studied and practiced manner which helps him overcome his childhood stammer and be seen as a powerful leader is one of his best performances. However his voice modulation could have been better as Edgar sounds the same when old or young. Naomi Watts as Helen Grady, Edgar’s long serving secretary and Arnie Hammer as Clyde Tolson do a splendid support job.
J.Edgar is a good biopic, which lets the viewer make up their own mind
