Review No.31: J. Edgar

Usually appearing in a biopic is a key to Oscar success and usually you're guaranteed at least a nomination however this year it seems that in the actor category the Academy Awards have bucked that trend with only Brad Pitt nominated for playing a real-life character. That's bad news then for Leo DiCaprio who was hoping to get another Oscar nod for his turn as infamous FBI head honcho J Edgar Hoover in a film directed by Academy favourite Clint Eastwood however that wasn't to be. The film is split into two parts one in which Hoover is narrating his autobiography to Chuck Bass from Gossip Girl and the other which follows his ascension to the position and his relationship with his deputy Clyde Tolson. The suggestion is made throughout that Hoover and Tolson are lovers but despite a declaration of love their relationship never blossoms mainly due to Edgar's mother, a great turn from Judi Dench, who tells him that she'd rather have a dead son than a gay one. The other recurring theme is that of Hoover's inflated ego and his belief that he had been involved in a lot more arrests than he actually had been so when Tolson confronts him towards the end of the film our belief in the story that Edgar has been narrating changes. The main case featured is of the kidnapping and later death of the Lindbergh baby and Hoover's involvement in that investigation but once again his personal life clouds his judgment.

A lot of what's good about J. Edgar can be found in its actors namely DiCaprio who over the past few years has proved himself to be a reliable actor and his performance here is reminiscent of the one he gave in The Aviator. Equally as impressive is Arnie Hammer who is known to most as the twins in The Social Network here he only has to worry about playing one character and he seems more comfortable playing the unspoken relationship between Hoover and Tolsen. If anybody was going to get an Oscar nod I feel it was Judi Dench her Mrs Hoover is a mixture of the mother from The Manchurian Candidate and Lady MacBeth and it is the only character that I have seen her play recently that has any substance to it. Unfortunately the negatives outweigh the positives as Eastwood's direction here seems to be both long-winded and a little big short-sighted. There are only a couple of references to Hoover's penchant for dressing in women's clothes and I also found this very episodic rather than entertaining. Another point of note is the make-up as in the final scenes both DiCaprio and Hammer don a large amount of old-man prosthetics and neither looks particularly convincing. It's a shame that this film wasn't nominated for any awards but after watching it I'm not that surprised that it hasn't.

Verdict: Some brilliant performances are marred by poor direction and shoddy make-up so at the most I can give this 6/10

Review No.1: Mother and Child

So here we are the first review of a film released in the UK in 2012. And it is one that originally appeared in the US in 2009. Mother and Child is directed by Rodrigo Garcia, whose other film Albert Nobbs is being reviewed very soon, but more importantly produced by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu director of Babel and 21 Grams. Like those films Mother and Child features various stories that link together as the story goes on with all three stories featuring themes of motherhood. Annette Bening stars as Karen a woman who gave up her baby when she was a teenager with this child now being a thirty-something lawyer named Elizabeth played by Naomi Watts. We follow the story of both of these women who have been affected by the adoption with Karen being very cold towards most people and Elizabeth being very matter-of-fact and throwing herself into her work as a lawyer. The third story follows Kerry Washington's Lucy trying to adopt a child with mixed results and as you would expect this story interlinks with the others before the film's end.

Mother and Child definitely has its moments and most of that comes from the performances, Watts especially shines in a role which is quite hard to sympathise with but she is able to convey a woman who has gone through emotional hardships and as a result of this has become cold. Annette Bening is also great although Karen is a character that is hard work she eventually softens when she forms a relationship with her co-worker played by Jimmy Smits. And I would be amiss if I didn't mention Samuel L Jackson as Elizabeth's worthy boss he puts in a turn that is very understated something you don't see from Jackson very often. Mother and Child's main problem is that it outstays its welcome and everything seemed to be drawn out so that the final scene would have more significance but for me I felt that there was at least some parts that could've been cut and some characters who weren't afforded much time to develop. Overall Mother and Child is a solid drama with some strong performances but there's nothing that marks this film out than more than that.

Verdict: For a solid drama a solid 5.5 out of 10 should do the trick.