J. Edgar (Amazon Instant Video)

As head of the FBI through eight presidents and three wars, Hoover waged battle against threats both real and perceived, often bending the rules to keep his countrymen safe.
Starring: Leonardo Dicaprio, Naomi Watts
Directed by: Clint Eastwood
Runtime: 2 hours 17 minutes
Release year: 2011
Studio: Warner Bros.


This is a very human portrayal of Hoover and not the black and white, hero or villain looks we've gotten from politics all these years.

The movie pulls no punches when it comes to showing the paranoid and vindictive side of Hoover. But it also shows the depth of his relationship with his life partner Clyde Tolson. A relationship that any honest person presented with the facts would not be able to deny. After all the two spent their free time together. Took all their meals together. And Tolson inherited all of Hoover's estate and is buried just a few old-fashioned discreet yards from him.

I'm not sure what the problem is for some people but I suspect it is political. The right-wing would not want to see their hero as a vulnerable, gay, very human person. The left would not want to see their villain in a loving relationship.

It can't be the pace of the movie because few people have a shorter attention span than I do.

A very good film for people who like movies that go deep into human nature.