J Edgar

I really liked this film, and am disappointed to see it panned elsewhere. I must admit, the aging makeup was very hammy, and the aching violins at the emotional scenes were typically Eastwood, however I love any film with Di Caprio in it, he is such a gooood actor, and all the other actors were brilliant too. Very well played.

Similar to the Iron Lady, it didn't get into the vileness of the politics, but it did get into empathy for a person in power. I was surprised afterwards to hear that J Edgar was one of the most powerful people int he US at the time, because this didn't really come across in the film, somehow the film didn't portray him so much as a charismatic person, as an emotionally repressed person, which is why I think the 'power' didn't shine through as much as the vulnerability. In the Iron Lady, however, Thatcher's power does come through a lot more, and her charisma with other people both personally and publicly.

I think the difference in J Edgar is that the focus is on a single relationship - with Torson - rather than specific instances. Or rather, the specific instances of his power - like when he is arresting those 'gangstas' - are two dimensional (we find out why later) - and also, in the interactions between him and his minor staff, he is shown to be somewhat of an a****hole (eg the moustache incident) and it is difficult to respect that kind of authority. The parts where he DOES have authority - in the courtrooms etc - he is shown to have an amazingly persuasive persona, but this only happens a couple of times, it could have been emphasised more to increase his sense of public power.

It wasn't entirely clear to me why Torson was as devoted to him as he was - Torson was absolutely gorgeous, such lovely eyes, so tall and handsome, so composed and self- confident, it was hard to see how such a magnificent man could be seduced by such an emotionally awkward guy. By contrast JEdgar was a basketcase in his personal life, a bit more tenderness on his part may have helped this. The film also reminded me of Remains of the Day - I wish JEdgar and Torson had actually had the guts to be lovers. All hollywood hypotheticals of course :-).