J. Edgar

An epic of a story spanning over 40 years of J. Edgar Hoover’s time as the head of the FBI.  He revolutionised the way things work by introducing fingerprinting identification and changed the police culture purely from his very analytical and eccentric nature.

The film spans his career from young agent to the head, meeting president after president, meeting constant resistance to his personality as well as professional nature.  He was a smart man who knew that information is power and always made sure he had the upper hand at every turn.  The film also goes into detail about his personal life, his close relationship with his mother and love interests or lack thereof.  Hoover was a man about his job and nothing else.

I am not an expert on American political or legal history but this film was a real eye opener for me.  The ins and outs of a special agents life in the FBI is a hard life surrounded in mystery and getting results.  Hoover was a results man but only when they best work is done to get that result.  Incredibly passionate about his cases, he lost sight of the state of America and the way it had changed over the years making himself and his approach eventually redundant.

Leonardo DiCaprio is a phenomenal actor = FACT.  He takes this role and eats it up.  Hoover’s subtle nature mixed with his fiery passion just explodes on screen though DiCaprio’s eye for details.  Naomi Watts does really well as they meek yet incredibly smart personal assistant.  She knows his failures as well as his successes.

Armie Hammer is the biggest surprise for me.  In the much hyped The Social Network as not one but two characters as the obnoxious Winklevoss twins, Hammer brings a very vulnerable approach to Hoover’s long time friend and ‘Number Two’ in Clyde Tolson.  He is just fantastic, mostly in the shadow of Hoover’s dominating character, he also provides a stability to the film.  The scenes between Hammer and DiCaprio are electric at times.

The film is pretty hefty though.  Rather long and plods along at certain earlier parts of the film, its slowness is deliberate that builds the tension until it explodes on screen and via the characters.  But the beauty is in the details, much like Hoover’s addiction to the smallest details in solving a crime, even the smallest look adds something to the story.  Written by Dustin Lance Black (Milk), the slow building of the love story is very touching and natural.  I am quite impressed by Clint Eastwood, having hated Hereafter (why did I bother watching that crap?) but he really shows a great skill in the little details and the bigger picture working together tremendously.

I only wish that the same attention to detail and respect of the story of a national figure in this film was applied to The Iron Lady, then it might have been a far more interesting film instead of the light hearted comical crap we got.

The Lives of Others

The Lives of Others is a beautiful and sad look at life under the watchful eye of the Stasi in East Germany.

Many novelists, journalists and playwrights were monitored by the Stasi, to check they weren't writing any propaganda material for the anti-government movement.  One particular playwright Georg Dreyman (played wonderfully by Sebastian Koch) and his actress girlfriend Christa-Maria Sieland (played by Martina Gedeck) are monitored by Stasi operative Hauptman Gerd Wiesler (the last role played by the late actor Ulriche Muhe).

Wiesler gets more and more involved in his subjects lives, the arguments, the intricacies of their love, their need to live in a free Germany but towing the line to keep their lives.  When more and more of their peers start to commit suicide, they feel the noose tightening around their necks.   Wiesler knows all the goings in in the couple's lives, and begins to become invested in their safety, a direct violation of his role in the operation.

Dreyman and a couple of his peers decide to write a damning article of the government and get it across the border to be released on the other side of the new defunct Berlin Wall.  All news outlets pick up this story and Wiesler and his team begin to feel the strain and must find the culprit as soon as possible.  Wiesler knowing all this already, decides to take matters into his own hands and protect his new 'friends'.

This story is both bleak and beautiful.  Well acted by all the cast, its like a huge ball rolling slowly towards you but you know you can never out run it.  I came away feeling so sad that many had to live like this not so long ago, but so heartened by the efforts of a few on both sides of the line to try and life better for all.

The Lives of Others is a truly wonderful film and lasting legacy to Ulriche Muhe, who died soon after it won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film award in 2006.