Dir: Clint Eastwood

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Armie Hammer, Naomi Watts, Damon Herriman, Ed Westwick and Jeffrey Donovan

Rating:  2/5★

Every so often (once a year, to be precise) a film comes along that screams “GIVE ME AN OSCAR!!”. J. Edgar is one of those films.

Leonardo DiCaprio is easily the best actor of his generation, and with every film he’s in we all sit with our fingers crossed in the cinema, praying that this is finally his year for an Academy Award.

The trailer for J. Edgar was so full of promise – explosions, dramatic courtroom scenes, billowing American Flags…if only I’d known.

J. Edgar is the classic biopic, following the life of J. Edgar Hoover (DiCaprio) from childhood to death as he reforms the American Criminal Justice system, ridding it from corruption and becoming corrupt in the process. In particular the film focuses on the mutual-appreciation society he has with his mother (Judi Dench), the erratic demands he places on his long-suffering receptionist (Naomi Watts) and undercover relationship with his second in command (Armie Hammer).

The biggest problem with J. Edgar is that it tries to cover too much in two hours. With everything from the Lindbergh Baby to Richard Nixon’s election – and a lot of gang warfare in between – it feels more like a botched history lesson than a film. Is this about being gay in the 1940s? Is it about the FBI? Who knows, there’s too much going on. And yet, for such a busy plot, the film is incredibly boring. So boring, in fact, I shut my eyes for 10 minutes and didn’t miss much.

Another flaw is that, despite Leo acting with every fibre of his being, the same people play their characters regardless of their age in the scene. Instead of using ‘young’ versions of the characters, the actors have been caked in ridiculous elderly prosthetics. Hammer, in particular, looked more like a naked mole rat than an ageing version of himself. If the plot doesn’t distract you then the bizarre wrinkles will.

It’s hard not to compare J. Edgar to The Iron Lady – THE biopic of the year. Perhaps, whilst The Iron Lady is suited more to a UK audience, the same could be said for the US and J. Edgar? Regardless, J. Edgar falls in every category that The Iron Lady shines.

Sorry Leo, 2012 isn’t going to be your year, either.