2. Helen Gandy - J. Edgar
Rarely have I seen an actress as underused as Naomi Watts was in J. Edgar. Ostebsibly concerned with FBI director J. Edgar Hoover and his quest to establish a vice-grip over American society, the film cast Watts as Helen Gandy, Hoover's long-time secretary and one-time quasi-romantic interest. The weird thing is that you get the feeling the role will end up being pretty prominent over the film's run-time. Aide from establishing Hoover's character, the opening salvos of the film put special emphasis on Hoover's awkward courtship of Gandy, culminating in a trip to the Library Of Congress. But after she admits she's not romantically interested in him, she takes up the role as his personal secretary and is promptly forgotten about. Oh sure, she's still
there, but all she's doing for the remainder of the film is odd little office jobs, like informing Hoover Clyde Tolson applied for a post at the department. On top of that, when Tolson enters the scene, she's further sidelined as a character of note, as befitting the film's obvious intent as Oscar-bait for Leonardo Di Caprio. Again, the only time she really comes back into the picutre is to destroy Hoover's files, an important job in the history of America but utterly underplayed by the film. I don't know who to blame for this perhaps it was the writers for giving Gandy so little to do past the first act, or perhaps it was Watts for failing to stamp herself upon the part. Either way up, it's a sad waste of Watts' considerable talents.