J. Edgar

Despite the insanely impressive pedigree of the cast and crew, "J. Edgar" was still the unchallenged campiest film of 2011. On paper, it sounds like a slam dunk: the story of the FBI's first boss is directed by Clint Eastwood, written by Dustin Lance Black ("Milk") and stars both Leonardo DiCaprio and Armie Hammer ("The Social Network"). However, the film is constantly undermined on all levels: by Eastwood's lazy direction and atypically slow paced editing, by Black's script which neither ignores nor explores rumors of Hoover's homosexuality, by DiCaprio and Hammer's flat performances (driven mainly by horrible accents) and even from the terrible production design - even the makeup here looks fake, which is perhaps why Eastwood shrouds every shot in shadows.

Eastwood never even clarifies the structure of his story. The flashbacks are suppose to be a representation of Hoover's autobiography; a personalized account of his history (Hammer's character later derides much of what we see as fiction - revisionist history that the Hoover character has created to make himself look good). Yet he also includes scenes, like Hoover's cross-dressing-mental-breakdown, that Hoover would never report to his biographer. Is what we're seeing meant to be J. Edgar's version of history (if so, why include such humiliating moments?) Or is it rather a representation of objective reality (if so, why are factual inaccuracies included and pointed out?) Clint never sets the record straight.

Luckily, the Blu-ray disc will satisfy fans of the film (if they exist). While the extras are light, consisting of a sole featurette on the real Hoover; the video transfer is impeccable. Perhaps the best part of the movie is the way Eastwood uses high contrast and heavy shadows to obscure his character, and it comes out in full detail here. A terrible disappointment from one of our country's finest filmmakers, "J. Edgar" is a film that time will quickly forget.

"J. Edgar"
Blu-ray/DVD Combo
$35.99
warnerbros.com