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J. EDGARMovie Reviews
Biographical drama about the public and private life of the former director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover. Cast:Leonardo DiCaprio, Armie Hammer, Naomi Watts, Josh LucasDirector:Clint EastwoodRelease Date:November 9, 2011DVD Release:February 21, 2012From:Warner Bros.Rating:RLength:2 hr 25 min
J. Edgar played to good not great reviews. Reviews were mixed. • David Denby wrote in the New Yorker, "...a nuanced account of J. Edgar Hoover (Leonardo DiCaprio) as a sympathetic monster, a compound of intelligence, repression, and misery... another remarkable turn in Clint Eastwood's career." • And Alynda Wheat wrote in People, "...lacking in insight, warmth and even color..." More Reviews Below...
J. Edgar Positive Reviews (51 Reviews, reviews below)
Richard Corliss, Time: FAIR "Where is the fiery intensity, the looming magnificence, that J. Edgar Hoover must have radiated to secure his power from the Presidents who employed him?"(See all of Richard Corliss's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,339 words, 11/11/11
Jake Coyle, Associated Press: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a riveting, noble attempt by Eastwood... It's another largely fascinating, if disappointingly flawed chapter in Eastwood's fantastic late period."(See all of Jake Coyle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,027 words, 11/10/11
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: VERY GOOD(cg) "...emotionally reticent yet absorbing.... I was held by 'J. Edgar,' but it's a movie -- like the man at its center -- with a buried heart."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 763 words, 11/11/11
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a movie exhilarated by biting off more than it can chew... Even when the film trips on its tall ambitions, you can't shake it off."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 455 words, 11/11/11
Claudia Puig, USA Today: VERY GOOD(cg) "...avoids the predictable... shines a probing beam of light on a man who was widely feared, often disliked, but rarely understood."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 341 words, 11/11/11
Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com: OUTSTANDING(cg) "As a period biopic, 'J. Edgar' is masterful. Few films span seven decades this comfortably. The sets, the props, the clothes, and details, look effortlessly right..."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 908 words, 11/08/11
Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies: EXCELLENT(cg) "For all its rough edges, 'J. Edgar' is finally a thought-provoking motion picture of deep sadness, a far-ranging elegy disguised as a historical drama."(See all of Glenn Kenny's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 784 words, 11/08/11
James Berardinelli, Reel Views: VERY GOOD(cg) "...features a tremendous lead performance, impeccable period detail, the fascinating use of an 'unreliable narrator,' and some individually compelling scenes."(See all of James Berardinelli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 945 words, 11/09/11
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (13 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: OUTSTANDING "...the tenderness of the love story comes as a shock. Anchored by a forceful, vulnerable Leonardo DiCaprio, who lays bare J. Edgar Hoover's humanity..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,192 words, 11/09/11
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "DiCaprio, our most underappreciated major actor, superbly fills in the blanks where the script fails. He does it with the un-Hoover-like traits of dignity, subtlety and clarity..."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 484 words, 11/09/11
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...gets its power from the way the director's traditional filmmaking style interacts with the revisionist thrust of Dustin Lance Black's script."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 879 words, 11/09/11
Lou Lumenick, New York Post: OUTSTANDING(cg) "DiCaprio may well receive a Best Actor Oscar for his tour de force -- greatly abetted by Armie Hammer in his first major role as the flamboyant but frustrated Tolson."(See all of Lou Lumenick's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 708 words, 11/09/11
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: VERY GOOD(cg) "This may be a closety film about a closety character, but the tensions between Eastwood's direction and the script he's directing keep us off-guard in an intriguing way."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 884 words, 11/09/11
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "A Hollywood biopic in the old-fashioned mode... expensively made and impressive to look at, but never terribly illuminating."(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 292 words, 11/09/11
David Edelstein, New York Magazine: WEAK "...shapeless and turgid and ham-handed... rich in bad lines and worse readings. Direction this ponderous exposes all the contrivances in Black's script..."(See all of David Edelstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 621 words, 11/07/11
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "As a period biopic, 'J. Edgar' is masterful. Few films span seven decades this comfortably. The sets, the props, the clothes, and details, look effortlessly right..."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 908 words, 11/08/11
J. Hoberman, Village Voice/LA Weekly: EXCELLENT "Although hardly flawless, Eastwood's biopic is his richest, most ambitious movie since the 'Letters From Iwo Jima-Flags of Our Fathers' duo, if not 'Unforgiven.' "(See all of J. Hoberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 845 words, 11/09/11
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: WEAK(cg) "...an ambitious, ultimately deflating portrait that somehow manages to elide Hoover's worst abuses of power while making a burlesque of his personal vulnerabilities."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 910 words, 11/09/11
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...in the end, it's hollow stuff. DiCaprio, often slathered in aging makeup, other times playing Hoover with boyish officiousness, never cracks the inner life of the man."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 519 words, 11/11/11
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: MODERATE(cg) "...a lumbering miscalculation, a slow and clumsy re-think of the late F.B.I. founder J. Edgar Hoover's life and career..."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 794 words, 11/11/11
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: VERY GOOD(cg) "Hammer is outstanding.... Dench, too, is good.... But DiCaprio is the catalyst.... 'J. Edgar' is worth seeing again, flaws and all."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 747 words, 11/09/11
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "That the film never ultimately convinces - that at times it's quite entertainingly bad - can be blamed on both an unfocused script and the project's very bigness."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 966 words, 11/11/11
Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Black's script is alternately conventional (stagily setting itself up as Hoover's dictated memoirs) and confused (featuring flashbacks within flashbacks)."(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 484 words, 11/11/11
Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: GOOD(cg) "...strange and choppy... Eastwood and his screenwriter, Dustin Lance Black, hold Hoover at arm's length, never, seemingly, able to decide if he's a hero or a villain."(See all of Shawn Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 399 words, 11/11/11
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: MODERATE(cg) "...even the technical attributes are tinny.... It's gratifying to see an old bully outed as a hypocrite, but by distracting us from bigger crimes, 'J. Edgar' is a public enemy."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 538 words, 11/11/11
Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Eastwood and screenwriter Dustin Lance Black ('Milk') constantly seem at odds about what type of expose the film should be."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 547 words, 11/10/11
Tom Long, Detroit News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...manages to be both epic and empty.... It doesn't help that the actors spend much of the film laboring beneath mounds of aging makeup."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 312 words, 11/11/11
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Half of this expansive picture is too on-the-nose and literal: It's hammy hokum.... the other weird half goes further than you might expect."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 837 words, 11/09/11
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (10 Reviews)
J. Hoberman, Village Voice/LA Weekly: EXCELLENT "Although hardly flawless, Eastwood's biopic is his richest, most ambitious movie since the 'Letters From Iwo Jima-Flags of Our Fathers' duo, if not 'Unforgiven.' "(See all of J. Hoberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 845 words, 11/09/11
Katey Rich, Cinema Blend: MODERATE(cg) "...ultimately undone by a whole lot of bad decisions, from Dustin Lance Black's needlessly time-jumping script to Clint Eastwood's typical no-frills direction..."(See all of Katey Rich's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 638 words, 11/09/11
Gerald Peary, Boston Phoenix: MODERATE(cg) "DiCaprio has the unenviable task of playing a character without a single redeeming feature. He's good as the little merde, though the film itself wobbles..."(See all of Gerald Peary's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 147 words, 11/10/11
Stephanie Zacharek, Movieline: MODERATE(cg) "...a sensitive, sympathetic portrait of a scummy little man... But it's all too earnest, to the point of serving, unwittingly or otherwise, as an apologia."(See all of Stephanie Zacharek's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,206 words, 11/09/11
Glenn Heath Jr., Slant: POOR(cg) "For the first time, I can't excuse the bull Clint Eastwood is selling.... a suffocating bore of indulgent orating, faux-historiography, and inconsequential dramatic outbursts."(See all of Glenn Heath Jr.'s reviews...)(Read the full review...) 720 words, 11/04/11
Curt Holman, Atlanta Creative Loafing: WEAK(cg) "...covers some fascinating territory... but the film never offers a compelling tale of a good man who succumbs to his worst impulses."(See all of Curt Holman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 408 words, 11/10/11
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher: FAIR(cg) "...no matter how good DiCaprio is, he can't invent an engaging story if it's not there in the script. 'J. Edgar' is too staid and static, and too unfocused..."(See all of MaryAnn Johanson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 964 words, 11/14/11
HIGHBROW PRESS (7 Reviews)
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: POOR "...ponderous direction, a clumsy script by Dustin Lance Black and ghastly slatherings of old-age makeup all conspire to put the story at an emotional and historical distance."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 726 words, 11/11/11
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: OUTSTANDING "...the tenderness of the love story comes as a shock. Anchored by a forceful, vulnerable Leonardo DiCaprio, who lays bare J. Edgar Hoover's humanity..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,192 words, 11/09/11
David Denby, New Yorker: EXCELLENT "...a nuanced account of J. Edgar Hoover (Leonardo DiCaprio) as a sympathetic monster... another remarkable turn in Clint Eastwood's career."(See all of David Denby's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,410 words, 11/14/11
Ella Taylor, NPR: MODERATE "...mostly dry-as-dust business.... Armie Hammer as Clyde Tolson redeems this lumbering quasi-history and brings it to life as a surprisingly tender love story."(See all of Ella Taylor's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 860 words, 11/08/11
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...gets its power from the way the director's traditional filmmaking style interacts with the revisionist thrust of Dustin Lance Black's script."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 879 words, 11/09/11
Dana Stevens, Slate: MODERATE "...surprisingly perceptive and tender. But when it tries to provide a sweeping overview of seven decades of American history, 'J. Edgar' can feel generic and vague..."(See all of Dana Stevens's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,032 words, 11/09/11
Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: VERY GOOD "...tackles its trickiest challenges with plausibility and good sense, while serving up a simmeringly caustic view of its controversial subject's behavior, public and private."(See all of Todd McCarthy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,520 words, 11/03/11
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...gets its power from the way the director's traditional filmmaking style interacts with the revisionist thrust of Dustin Lance Black's script."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 879 words, 11/09/11
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: VERY GOOD(cg) "...contains many provocative and powerful moments, but it's also a film that perhaps tries to accomplish too much within its time frame of two hours and 17 minutes."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,747 words, 11/05/11
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: OUTSTANDING "...the tenderness of the love story comes as a shock. Anchored by a forceful, vulnerable Leonardo DiCaprio, who lays bare J. Edgar Hoover's humanity..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,192 words, 11/09/11
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: POOR "...ponderous direction, a clumsy script by Dustin Lance Black and ghastly slatherings of old-age makeup all conspire to put the story at an emotional and historical distance."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 726 words, 11/11/11
20.3 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
J. Edgar's reviews are separated by an average 20.3 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
J. Edgar (51 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:J. Edgar's reviews cover 99.7% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 38,883 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 762 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
J. Edgar Coverage, Volume & Length (51 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 24.3 Hours After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
J. Edgar's reviews on average broke 24.3 hours after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is J. Edgar's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
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