After Clint Eastwood's hatchett job on "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil," there was plenty of cause for alarm when it came to his J. Edgar Hoover biopic "J. Edgar" (Warner Brothers Home Video). Was he the right director to tackle a subject rife with queer innuendo? Once you get past the gnarly old-age make-up and Leonardo DiCaprio's inconsistent accent, "J. Edgar," with a screenplay by Dustin Lance Black ("Milk") isn't half-bad.
Throughout the film, Hoover (DiCaprio, who has played gay before, as poet Rimbaud in "Total Eclipse," for example) goes through a series of FBI agents/writers, to whom he dictates his version of his life story. Naturally, Hoover's account may not be entirely accurate and gay screenwriter Black does what he can to fill in some of the blanks.
Beginning in 1919, before there was a Federal Bureau of Investigation, "J. Edgar" follows the driven (or one might say, obsessive) Hoover's rise through the ranks. From his time at the Department of Justice and his contribution to the cataloguing system at the Library of Congress to his spearheading the creation of the FBI, "J. Edgar" attempts to portray the man as someone with a compulsion to please his manipulative mother Annie (Judi Dench) at practically all costs. Because most of what Hoover did professionally (re: radical revolutionaries, gangsters and the Lindbergh baby) is on record in history books, for example, this biographical aspect, especially when combined with that of his personal romantic life, is what makes the movie compelling.
The entrance of Clyde Tolson (sensitively portrayed by Armie Hammer) into the socially inept Hoover's life, is tastefully presented. The homoeroticism of the relationship, in which Tolson moved from assistant to paramour, is handled with respect and the relationship feels genuine, for the most part. When Hoover tells Tolson he needs and cares for him, you believe it. Black deserves credit for the way he brings it to light and the actors, particularly Hammer, should also be commended. All in all, "J. Edgar" goes on about 20 minutes too long, but it is still worth seeing. Special features on the Blu-ray/DVD set include an Ultraviolet Digital Copy for instant streaming and the "J. Edgar: The Most Powerful Man in the World" featurette.