tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post7795335577230163797..comments2024-01-30T04:32:47.585-05:00Comments on The Cooler: Solid Weight: J. EdgarJason Bellamyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-83610032054558466072012-01-19T13:00:22.760-05:002012-01-19T13:00:22.760-05:00Being Gay is a choice. Giving over to your own he...Being Gay is a choice. Giving over to your own hearts lusts. Its a sin in any Bible. Gay Edgar, I mena 'J' just reflects this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-65658787181439983052011-11-15T16:40:38.706-05:002011-11-15T16:40:38.706-05:00Gah, I was on the fence with even seeing this movi...Gah, I was on the fence with even seeing this movie - love DiCaprio's work and am compelled by the subject matter, but have been bored with Eastwood's last few and am generally not a fan of make-up being used to significantly age actors - and this great review (not to mention the equally great comments) has not helped me decide whether or not I should see this. <br /><br />A curiosity about Hoover in general makes me want to go, but I wonder if reading a book about him might be a better option. <br /><br />Thanks as always for your insight, Jason.jakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14377590117374193997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-26996331180281886162011-11-14T19:54:38.337-05:002011-11-14T19:54:38.337-05:00In this film, the layers of putty were ridiculous....<em>In this film, the layers of putty were ridiculous.</em><br /><br />In the case of DiCaprio, whose makeup I think is rather excellent, I think the obstacle is that we know it's DiCaprio under there. I think his makeup would definitely pass the glance test if you showed a clip to someone who didn't know the actor underneath. I can't say the same thing of the other makeup.<br /><br />I've always said that one of the cruelest things to do to an actor is to make him/her get under lots of makeup and play old. And this is especially true if one character gets the makeup treatment while the other is played by multiple actors (<em>The Reader</em>, for example). But in this case I love the all-in approach. I love that they lead with the elder Hoover as if to say: look, this is how DiCaprio looks under all this makeup, and you're going to see him that way a lot, and you're going to have to just go with it.Jason Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-72601895982677462602011-11-14T19:50:14.153-05:002011-11-14T19:50:14.153-05:00Doc: ...the movie had the effect of making him see...Doc: <em>...the movie had the effect of making him seem ordinary and predictable...</em><br /><br />Building off my reply to Sam, that's kind of what I like about Hoover. I kind of like the idea that this extraordinary man had issues that on the one hand were very simple but on the other hand totally controlled him, probably because he never learned how to be without control. I won't argue, of course, that the movie couldn't have found greater depth; of course it could have. But the allusions to <em>Citizen Kane</em> enhanced the picture, if anything; they were both very public and very closeted men, in their own ways.Jason Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-72126608295990699822011-11-14T19:47:16.939-05:002011-11-14T19:47:16.939-05:00I haven't even written my first response, and ...I haven't even written my first response, and I'm already detecting a theme.<br /><br />Sam: <em>I found the film poorly focused, episodic, unable to probe beneath the surface to impart some more telling psychology into Hoover the Man, and lamentable use of make-up and a dull Eastwood score, derivative in its simplicity from his his previous work, and interminable length that in this case seemed to work against narrative cohesion.</em><br /><br />This is one of those films where I can look at that assessment and say, yep, sounds about right, even as I enjoyed it and found much to admire.<br /><br />The tricky thing, I think, is the "telling psychology of Hoover the Man." On the one hand, I agree with you: it seems to boil the guy down to some mommy and closeting issues. On the other hand, Kane was boiled down to a guy with sled issues. That's oversimplifying, I admit, but my point is this: Hoover, like Kane, comes off as a guy who was thoroughly unknowable, despite his omnipresence. Maybe the Kane structure is better for this; it's told through the memories of friends who were close but not close enough. Still, I get the same feeling with the approach to Hoover here.Jason Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-89704324831957683782011-11-14T18:09:21.336-05:002011-11-14T18:09:21.336-05:00I love your reference here to J. Edgar's room ...I love your reference here to J. Edgar's room in the death scene as Xanadu. That says a lot about the character and his secret life. The scene is nicely shot as the camera moves through the exotic furnishings in his bedroom. Other scenes could have benefitted from the same care and atmosphere. <br /><br />Good analysis here though I think DiCaprio's old-age makeup was poor, not as poor as Hammer's, but poor. In the 1930 actors playing Emile Zola or whatever were done up with wrinkles and gray hair and you knew they were old because they acted old - like Orson Welles in <i>Citizen Kane</i> - and we have imaginations. In this film, the layers of putty were ridiculous.Richard Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12397053921647421425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-22031196656882653562011-11-14T12:03:50.844-05:002011-11-14T12:03:50.844-05:00Thanks for the link, Jason. Your review is measur...Thanks for the link, Jason. Your review is measured and generous. <i>J. Edgar</i> left me stunned by its allusions to <i>Citizen Kane</i>. As I looked around the elderly populace of the theater, I wondered if this film heralds some new kind of geriatric genre, the revenge of the bureaucrat? Sam mentioned that Hoover was a fascinating character, but the movie had the effect of making him seem ordinary and predictable. I still like to think that the actual J. Edgar had more sides than Eastwood and DiCaprio felt obliged to show.The Film Doctor https://www.blogger.com/profile/03073505923746994988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-86743904437122970092011-11-14T07:58:44.079-05:002011-11-14T07:58:44.079-05:00Hoover is certainly a fascinating character, and y...Hoover is certainly a fascinating character, and you certainly (as always) present a reasoned and thorough alternate case against the tidal wave of negative criticism.<br /><br />I found the film poorly focused, episodic, unable to probe beneath the surface to impart some more telling psychology into Hoover the Man, and lamentable use of make-up and a dull Eastwood score, derivative in its simplicity from his his previous work, and interminable length that in this case seemed to work against narrative cohesion.<br /><br />I absolutely agree with you that aside from the make-up Di Caprio delivers one of his finest performances, and there is some fine period suthenticity. Eastwoods' handling of Hoover's sexuality is conservative as expected, but th eimplications are well enough conveyed.eisSam Julianonoreply@blogger.com