Even the most highbrow of highbrows needs to relax and, on certain days when a retreat to the solarium in a favorite alpaca sweater while sipping on a red from the Bordeaux region simply doesn’t cut it, there is another outlet. The comedic offerings of film from across the ages to relax the wary mind burdened with the world’s problems.  The highbrow thinkers of  the world can indulge in film entertainment between solving global warming by using algorithms from a Harvard library window and discussing why James Joyce hated punctuation over tea at 4 o’clock Greenwich time. 

Much of director Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar Hoover biopic is speculative and thus runs the risk of coming under attack from historical purists. But for those willing to view it for what it is – a movie – there is much to enjoy. Clearly, Eastwood has taken liberties in his storytelling, but that’s not a bad thing. In so doing, he has crafted a fascinating vision of a well-known personality.