Just saw 'J. Edgar'.

[trof]

Fascinating, although it does drag (no pun intended) in parts.

To me, his relationship with Clyde Tolson comes off as mostly 'platonic'. It has been described as 'brotherly love', but I suspect it was more than that.

Not exactly a spoiler, but the 'melt-down' scene between Hoover and Tolson is riveting.

Hoover sure had some demons in his life.
I think he was definitely psychotic.

Leonardo DeCapprio is no longer just a 'pretty boy'.
His portrayal of Hoover should get him an Oscar nomination.
Also, his makeup as Hoover, through the years, is amazing.

Recommend.

[Greybnk48]

1. I look forward to seeing this one. I'm a big fan of Leo

DeCapprio. I think he's consistently underrated.

[lame54]

2. sweet - love clint

[trof]

27. Had no idea he was the director until the end credits.

More to the guy than 'Dirty Harry', for sure.

[lame54]

28. Go watch Million Dollar Baby - Awesome

[trof]

29. Yep. Seen that.

I think about the times when he was Rowdy Yates on 'Rawhide'.
The guy had no idea how far he would go.

[CurtEastPoint]

3. Leonardo has proven himself to be quite an actor.

I want to go see this. I read a book recently The Secrets of the FBI by Ronald Kessler and the discussion came up about JEH and the drag and gay bit but he didn't put a lot of credence in it.

[Ilsa]

15. I agree. He's an amazing actor. He's played some

thoughtful and mature roles over the last decade. I'm looking forward to him getting a nomination.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. Thanks for the good review!

We plan to see it as soon as it's out on Netflix.

[Eddie Haskell]

5. Leonardo DeCapprio

has been one of the best actors in the business for years.

[LuvNewcastle]

6. I look forward to seeing it; Hoover has always

been interesting to me. It's scary as Hell that someone so screwed up can become so powerful.

[Cirque du So-What]

7. Knowledge is power

Hoover acquired power by finding the skeletons in the closets of the rich & powerful.

[LuvNewcastle]

8. Yes. I think a case could be made that

Hoover was the father of the Information Age.

[yesphan]

24. I think this

can be applied to Grover Norquist as well.

[trof]

9. Yeah, he had 'files' on all the biggies in politics.

Every president from FDR on was afraid to fire him.
With the possible exception of Truman.
I think Harry bought into the 'defender of the nation' persona that Hoover actively promoted.

He hated serving at the 'pleasure' of every new president and his attorney general.
So he got the dirt on every incoming administration and basically blackmailed them to keep him on.

[BuddhaGirl]

10. Looking forward to seeing it!

:thumbsup:

[trof]

11. A guy in my neighborhood is a retired FBI agent.

Very right-wing.
He thinks Hoover was a patriot.
I told him I'd buy his ticket to the movie.
He declined.
:eyes:

[Mojambo]

13. The portrayal of Hoover is considerably more flattering than I expected

Still, a very solid film. Very well shot, and for the most part a very well written screenplay.

[trof]

16. My take:

He started with 'good intentions'.
A dedicated public servant.
:shrug:

Perceived a threat to the nation and crusaded to thwart it.
'Perceived' being the operative word.

But he devolved into a paranoid megalomaniac and self-promoter.
Seeing communists under every bed.

[Mojambo]

19. I found the relationship with his mother to be most fascinating. n/t

[gateley]

12. DeCapprio is one of the actors I love to watch - very talented. nt

[trof]

26. She was definitely the domineering influence on him.

Creepy.

[trof]

14. Interesting bio of Helen Gandy, Hoover's secretary for 51 years.

She was an enabler, and very powerful in her own right.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Gandy

[Archae]

18. Naomi Watts plays her in the movie.

[UTUSN]

25. "witty, urbane Dem presidential candidate" - Adlai?!1

"America's best-known first ladies" I suppose is my darling Eleanor.


************QUOTE********

blackmail material on the patriarch of an American political dynasty, his sons, their wives, and other women; allegations of two homosexual arrests which Hoover leaked to help defeat a witty, urbane Democratic presidential candidate; the surveillance reports on one of America's best-known first ladies and her alleged lovers, both male and female, white and black; the child molestation documentation the director used to control and manipulate one of the Red-baiting proteges; a list of the Bureau's spies in the White House during the eight administrations when Hoover was FBI director; the forbidden fruit of hundreds of illegal wiretaps and bugs, containing, for example, evidence that an attorney general (and later Supreme Court justice) had received payoffs from the Chicago syndicate; as well as celebrity files, with all the unsavory gossip Hoover could amass on some of the biggest names in show business."

********UNQUOTE*********

[devilgrrl]

17. I've been a fan since 'The Aviator'

A very good actor with a good heart.

[Divine Discontent]

20. y'all are killin' me with the butchering of his name

D I C A P R I O

Nice review, btw!

[Festivito]

21. Film does drag; does drag, and drags out some, or, the truth.

If you do go, I suggest having faith during the slow long build.

[lunatica]

22. DiCaprio showed his acting chops in What's eating Gilbert Grape and in

This Boy's life with Robert De Niro when he was just a kid.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

30. And slightly older in the Basketball Diaries. I'm usually not impressed by some of the

younger actors but when I saw those films he struck me as more than just a pretty boy.

[FourScore]

23. Thanks! I look forward to seeing it. nt