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Movies that feel like J. Edgar (2011)

If you loved J. Edgar, the closest films we have are Richard Jewell (2019), Black Mass (2015) and House of Gucci (2021). All three share J. Edgar's contemplative and gritty feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 7 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu and others, checked against today's data.

As the face of law enforcement in the United States for almost 50 years, J. Edgar Hoover was feared and admired, reviled and revered. But behind closed doors, he held secrets that would have destroyed his image, his career, and his life.

🍅 44% Rotten Tomatoes6.5 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Clint Eastwoodcontemplativegrittyepic

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If J. Edgar hit the spot, these will too

Richard Jewell poster
Richard Jewell
2019 · dir. Clint Eastwood
🍅 77%7.5drama · history · crime

The same hand behind both of them: Clint Eastwood

The difference: Reviewed even better

Richard Jewell thinks quick, works fast, and saves hundreds, perhaps thousands, of lives after a domestic terrorist plants several pipe bombs and they explode during a concert, only to be falsely suspected of the crime by sloppy FBI work and sensational media coverage.

Black Mass poster
Black Mass
2015 · dir. Scott Cooper
🍅 74%6.8drama · crime · history

Both keep coming back to the same thing: fbi

The true story of Whitey Bulger, the brother of a state senator and the most infamous violent criminal in the history of South Boston, who became an FBI informant to take down a Mafia family invading his turf.

House of Gucci poster
House of Gucci
2021 · dir. Ridley Scott
🍅 62%6.6drama · crime · history

Both are built on the same subject: biography

When Patrizia Reggiani, an outsider from humble beginnings, marries into the Gucci family, her unbridled ambition begins to unravel the family legacy and triggers a reckless spiral of betrayal, decadence, revenge, and ultimately… murder.

Killers of the Flower Moon poster
Killers of the Flower Moon
2023 · dir. Martin Scorsese
🍅 93%7.5crime · history · drama

One thread runs through both: fbi

When oil is discovered in 1920s Oklahoma under Osage Nation land, the Osage people are murdered one by one—until the FBI steps in to unravel the mystery.

Invictus poster
Invictus
2009 · dir. Clint Eastwood
🍅 76%7.3drama · history

Both are Clint Eastwood's work, and they rhyme

The difference: Missing the grit of J. Edgar

Newly elected President Nelson Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa's rugby union team as they make their historic run to the 1995 Rugby World Cup Championship match.

Just Mercy poster
Just Mercy
2019 · dir. Destin Daniel Cretton
🍅 85%7.6drama · crime · history

Contemplative where it counts, gritty underneath

The powerful true story of Harvard-educated lawyer Bryan Stevenson, who goes to Alabama to defend the disenfranchised and wrongly condemned — including Walter McMillian, a man sentenced to death despite evidence proving his innocence. Bryan fights tirelessly for Walter with the system stacked against them.

Molly's Game poster
Molly's Game
2017 · dir. Aaron Sorkin
🍅 82%7.4drama · crime

Common ground: biography

Molly Bloom, a young skier and former Olympic hopeful becomes a successful entrepreneur (and a target of an FBI investigation) when she establishes a high-stakes, international poker game.

Sully poster
Sully
2016 · dir. Clint Eastwood
🍅 85%7.4drama · history

Both lean on scale more than on drama

On 15 January 2009, the world witnessed the 'Miracle on the Hudson' when Captain 'Sully' Sullenberger glided his disabled plane onto the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 souls aboard. However, even as Sully was being heralded by the public and the media for his unprecedented feat of aviation skill, an investigation was unfolding that threatened to destroy his reputation and career.

Pixote poster
Pixote
1980 · dir. Héctor Babenco
🍅 94%7.9crime · drama

Both are working the same pair: lgbt, gay theme

The difference: 31 years apart, and the 1980s show

10-year-old Pixote endures torture, degradation, and corruption at a local youth detention center where two of its members are murdered by policemen who frame Lilica, a 17-year-old trans hustler. Pixote helps Lilica and three other boys escape and they start to make their living by a life of crime which only escalates to more violence and death.

Jobs poster
Jobs
2013 · dir. Joshua Michael Stern
🍅 27%6drama · history

Contemplative history, and it commits to that

The story of Steve Jobs' ascension from college dropout into one of the most revered creative entrepreneurs of the 20th century.

Loving Pablo poster
Loving Pablo
2017 · dir. Fernando León de Aranoa
🍅 33%6.4crime · drama

Gritty crime in both cases

The film chronicles the rise and fall of the world's most feared drug lord Pablo Escobar and his volatile love affair with Colombia's most famous journalist Virginia Vallejo throughout a reign of terror that tore a country apart.

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile poster
🍅 54%6.7drama · crime

Drama built on stillness, twice over

A chronicle of the crimes of Ted Bundy, from the perspective of his longtime girlfriend, Elizabeth Kloepfer, who refused to believe the truth about him for years.

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The best-reviewed films that share J. Edgar’s defining feeling.