Film Snail

6.2

J. Edgar

R·2011·137m

Drama

Crime

History

Drama

Crime

History

Summary

As the face of law enforcement in the United States for almost 50 years, J. Edgar Hoover was feared and admired, reviled and revered. But behind closed doors, he held secrets that would have destroyed his image, his career, and his life.

Cast

Leonardo DiCaprio

John Edgar Hoover

Naomi Watts

Helen Gandy

Armie Hammer

Clyde Tolson

Josh Lucas

Charles Lindbergh

Josh Hamilton

Robert Irwin

Judi Dench

Anna Marie Hoover

Geoff Pierson

Mitchell Palmer

Gunner Wright

Dwight Eisenhower

Dermot Mulroney

Colonel Schwarzkopf

Kaitlyn Dever

Palmer's Daughter

Adam Driver

Walter Lyle

Ed Westwick

Agent Smith

Jessica Hecht

Emma Goldman

Denis O'Hare

Albert Osborne

Lea Thompson

Lela Rogers

Damon Herriman

Bruno Hauptmann

Sadie Calvano

Edgar's Niece

Amanda Schull

Anita Colby

Roberta Bassin

Roosevelt's Secretary

Emily Alyn Lind

Shirley Temple

Barbara Keegan

Bombing Witness

Gerald Downey

FBI Agent

Jeffrey Donovan

Robert Kennedy

Geoff Stults

Raymond Caffrey

Thomas Langston

Young Boy

Lea Coco

Agent Sisk

Aaron Lazar

Prosecutor Wilentz

Cheryl Lawson

Palmer's Wife

Brady Matthews

Inspector

David A. Cooper

Franklin Roosevelt

Kelly Lester

Head Secretary

Jack Donner

Edgar's Father

Dylan Burns

Hoover as a Child

Jack Axelrod

Caminetti

Michael James Faradie

Bureau Agent (1919)

Josh Stamberg

Agent Stokes

Christian Clemenson

Inspector Schell

Billy Smith

Secret Service Officer

Ken Howard

Harlan Fiske Stone

Zach Grenier

John Condon

Johnny Cicco

Young Agent

Steve Monroe

Restaurant Host

Stephen Root

Arthur Koehler

Gary Werntz

Attorney General

David Clennon

Senator Friendly

Michael O'Neill

Senator McKellar

Eric Larkin

Fred Hunter

Eric Frentzel

William Mahan

Kyle Eastwood

Stork Club Band

Gregory Hoyt

Agent One

Jenny Phagan

Baker's Wife

Chris Caputo

Bronx Baker

Shannon McClain Robertson

African American Woman (as Shannon McClain)

Leslie Augustine

Lindbergh Nanny (uncredited)

Fileena Bahris

Starlet (uncredited)

Jennipher Foster

Lucille Ball (uncredited)

Belinda Gosbee

Gangster's Moll (uncredited)

Elizabeth Karr

Secretary (uncredited)

Martin Luther King Jr.

Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

Lindsay Lucas-Bartlett

Hollywood Starlet (uncredited)

Pat Nixon

Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

Richard Nixon

Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

Jamie Noel

Racetrack Gambler (uncredited)

Miles Fisher

Agent Garrison

Robert Fleet

Edgar's Mother's Doctor

Emily Banks

Radical Citizen (uncredited)

Scot Carlisle

Agent Williams

Ryan McPartlin

Lawrence Richey

Crew

Director

Clint Eastwood

Writer

Dustin Lance Black

Reviews

r96sk

February 12, 2022

A bit of a bore, is <em>'J. Edgar'</em>.

Leonardo DiCaprio puts in a very good performance as the titular character and his co-stars are all solid, but I just found the way that the story is told to be lacklustre. There aren't, at least for me, any memorable scenes and I wasn't invested in the plot at any point really. It's semi-watchable, but goes on for too long to be passably so.

It does, as noted, have a neat cast list, with Armie Hammer, Naomi Watts and Judi Dench, among others, involved behind DiCaprio. I think they all give their best, with any issues I have with this 2011 release being away from them. Two duds in a row to start the 2010s from Mr. Eastwood; in my humble opinion, of course.