J. EDGAR (2011)
– 4 out of 5 stars
Leonardo DiCaprio plays the lead, J. Edgar Hoover, in this biopic about the FBI director, how he rose to power and his personal, allegedly closeted life.
OMG. Leo and Armie! First of all, I have got to say that the makeup team that was responsible for Leo’s, Armie Hammer’s and Naomi Watts’ ageing were really good. I mean, even the whites in their eyes looked yellow and possibly filled with cataracts. And it was much more creepier seeing Armie Hammer old because he was balding much more than the old Leo.
The most prominent case on this movie is the Lindberg kidnapping and it told of how Hoover kept track of the serial numbers on the ransom money, hired experts on handwriting and wood – evidence from the case that would lead him to the kidnapper that went scotfree for two years. Seeing as how this takes place in the early 1900s, it was like CSI for the early ages.
Leo’s acting was powerful and convincing as usual, too bad he wasn’t nominated for an Oscar. There were quite a number of familiar faces too – Ed Westwick (!), Josh Lucas and Jeffrey Donovan (Burn Notice).