Der Fluch des Edgar Hoover

With an enjoyable satirical undertone.

I'm surprised how few comments have been given so far.

Well entertaining for sure. And being "just" a TV movie, above average, no question. Positively to point out is the satirical undertone throughout the movie, what concerns the quite questionable character of the Kennedy clan. A lot of less than beneficial facts have emerged about the real background of JFK and his brother since their tragic death. Still surprising, how the iconic, unquestioned figure of JFK was able to survive till this day. But the movie puts also light on Hoovers debatable "qualities", especially in regards of his "informal" ties to the mafia. The use of real archive footage adds also to this movie. Well done.

I note this movie, despite starring Brian Cox, is not available for streaming in the USA in 2023, and a DVD needs to be ordered from France (this is how I got it). Is it restricted from some major markets for some political reasons? This film's script itself plays out as if under the over-sight or governance of some outside parties with legal power who told Dugain what he could say in this film about Hoover. That is, despite its hints at Hoover's general nefariousness and odd contradictions, the movie lacks a real, vivid argument about Hoover's antagonistic relationship to the Kennedys and so no real, vivid drama or tragedy comes into focus. We're left with a portrait of Hoover as a crank and impediment, but not as an major player in several calamities--though it implies that he was. I still prefer Cox's believable characterization of Hoover to the squinting mask that DiCaprio affects in his stagey attempt at embodying Hoover in the even more tepid and inconclusive Clint Eastwood-directed bio-pic "Edgar." Stay til the end of Dugain's alternative, because the acting in this is quite good, but you may, like me, puzzle over the punches pulled--the whole thing lacks the focus, drama, and power that its outline promises. If somebody didn't tell them what they could-and-couldn't say, it feels as if the script were edited by a redactor's pen.

I unexpectedly enjoyed this movie – a mix of archival clips and dramatized scenes. It is about J Edgar Hoover, the long serving and legendary FBI boss in the USA. The film weaves a speculative mix of fact and 'fiction' around the times of the Kennedys in power in the White House – Jack as president and his brother Bob as Attorney General – both to die by the end of the decade. The core of the film is J Edgar Hoover's relationship with the Kennedys within the rich context of what was happening politically at the time. It also depicts, Hoover's relationship with his deputy, Clyde Tolson (and secret lover apparently)as a secondary theme. Tolson acts as narrator in the tale. He presents as an ill man and possibly bitter man always at the behest of Hoover and in his shadow.

It sustained my interest throughout – no doubt due to powerfully performances by Brian Cox as Hoover and the multi-layered political reality he operated in. It is an imagined work based on known facts, but not all realities presented can be assumed to be true even if woven together in a believable tale. It triggered my interest to know more and check some facts, although some will never be known. Not all scenes were convincing, for example Hoover with his psychoanalyst did not ring true, but may have been needed as a literary device. The actor playing Bob Kennedy was less than satisfy, but these are minor points.

The content will provide a happy hunting ground for those inclined to view the world through a lens of conspiracies. Some conspiracies may have a basis in truth!