Movie Night with "J. Edgar"

Spoiler Alert!

As soon as this movie came out, I knew that I wanted to see it. I'm a huge history buff, so I knew that this film would be right up my alley. So, the other night, I finally rented and watched it. I have a few thoughts on it and there will be spoilers involved, so keep that in mind before you read this review.

First off, I'm going to go ahed and address the elephant in the room. I have a problem when directors and writers take artistic liberties with historical figures. It has always been a pet peeve of mine. This film sort of irritated me in that regard. They took rumor and ran with it as if it were fact. Truth is, we do not know if J. Edgar Hoover was gay. We have no idea of knowing. History can assume based on what we do know, but we have no way of confirming these rumors. Yes, Hoover was a cross dresser. Yes, he lived with his mother until her death. Yes, he didn't have a family or a wife or a girlfriend. Yes, he was really close to his assistant at the Bureau. But none of these facts can confirm Hoover's sexuality. It's just as likely that the man was asexual or was just very private. I'm not upset that Hollywood is trying to create more movies with gay leading roles. Far from it! I think that is great. I'm just a little miffed that they created a story based solely on rumor. Rumors that will now be seen as fact for future generations. I'm just a little touchy when it comes to messing with historical fact just to "spice up" a storyline.

Now, having said that, this movie was excellent! There was a great storyline, beautiful cinematography, great acting and, despite turning rumors into facts, the film was historically accurate. It was a little slow at first, but there is just enough drama, historical facts, and bits of dry, sarcastic humor to make this a wonderful film.

This is definitely a "Must See".