So to be totally honest, I really had no desire to see Clint Eastwood‘s new film J. Edgar, yet I attended a screening the other night and I was surprisingly thoroughly impressed! Not only was it extremely well done (like most of Eastwood’s films), I thought Leonardo DiCaprio did a truly fantastic job (easily a best actor Oscar nomination) at portraying one of the most controversial figures in American history, J. Edgar Hoover. I didn’t know all that much about Hoover (in a nutshell he created the FBI) but I found his story to be fascinating, especially his private life, including his very close ‘personal’ relationship with Clyde Tolson (played by super cutie Armie Hammer), who was the associate director of the FBI during Hoover’s long reign during eight presidencies. There’s also strong supporting performances from Naomi Watts (as Hoover’s secretary) and Judi Dench (as his overbearing mother). Overall the film was superb, it’s definitely an interesting look at one of our most notorious historical figures. The film just opened this weekend, for sure see it, without a doubt it’s going to garner a number of Academy Award nominations.
As the face of law enforcement in America for almost fifty 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.
Under the direction of Clint Eastwood, Leonardo DiCaprio stars in the title role of J. Edgar, a drama that explores the public and private life of one of the most powerful, controversial and enigmatic figures of the 20th century.
