MovieChat Forums > J. Edgar (2011) Discussion > Why the white horse?

Why the white horse?

posted 12 years ago by Aim-JE
4 replies | jump to latest

I'll watch it again because it might have been meant to have something to do with whatever raid/arrest was going on. I guess we'll never know the truth about J. Edgar Hoover.
Almost everything shown in this movie was what JEH told the man writing his biography, and as Clyde points out, was either exaggerated or completely fabricated, with very few exceptions. The performances were great, but I was disappointed with the script and movie as a whole.

"Pay no attention to the man in the trunk."

[–] rainbird131162 12 years ago

Almost everything shown in this movie was what JEH told the man writing his biography, and as Clyde points out, was either exaggerated or completely fabricated,

Do you see a connection between this and Edgar's friendship with Tolson? Does it occur to you that Edgar's inability to express how he felt might have led him to compensate in some other way, e.g., an obsession with other people's secrets and a desire to rewrite history with himself as the star?

Mai Yamane! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-sYFirfywY&feature=related

[–] Aim-JE 12 years ago

He was very repressed and definitely wanted to be the hero in every single scenario. I don't think that's ever been disputed, not by me anyway.
What was the white horse supposed to mean?

"Pay no attention to the man in the trunk."

[–] rainbird131162 12 years ago

What was the white horse supposed to mean?

It's part of Edgar's myth-making. On the verge of an arrest he sees a white horse - a symbol of his own courage and purity - that emboldens him to make the capture himself. But as Clyde later points out in one of the film's most devastating scenes, 'There was no white horse, Edgar.' It's all been a pack of lies.

Mai Yamane! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-sYFirfywY&feature=related

[–] Aim-JE 12 years ago

I thought he looked incredibly awkward and uncomfortable when he was holding a gun, but I don't think it was an accident. Good acting and directing.

"Pay no attention to the man in the trunk."