Warner Bros. Pictures have debuted the first trailer for the Clint Eastwood directed J.Edgar biopic. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as the controversial head of the F.B.I. in a tale that spins several decades of his life.
The official description follows:
As the face of law enforcement in America 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.
The all-star cast also includes Armie Hammer (Clyde Tolson, Hoover’s best friend and possible lover), Judi Dench (as Hoover’s mum), Naomi Watts (Hoover’s indispensible secretary Helen Gandy), Josh Lucas (aviator Charles Lindbergh), Damon Herriman (Bruno Hauptmann), and Ed Westwick (Agent Smith, assigned to write Hoover’s biography).
Here’s the trailer, DiCaprio’s ageing make-up and put on accent et all;
The film is scripted by Dustin Lance Black (Milk), but we are told Hoover’s alleged cross-dressing won’t significantly feature and the rumoured intimate relationship between Tolson & Hoover will only be subtext and some featured sexual tension. However their relationship/friendship is the key to the film as shown in the trailer above.
We’ve seen the masterpieces that Eastwood has been able to put out with the creative freedom he is normally allowed but it’s been a few years since he has really knocked one out of the ballpark. Does DiCaprio in aging make-up sell the historically enigmatic figure to you in what particularly looks like Awards season baiting? The overall dark tone and feel of the trailer leads one to believe there will be much of J. Edgar Hoover’s darker facets to be revealed.
An expected Awards season contender, Eastwood’s film has bypassed the major film festivals, though it will play at AFI Film Festival before opening three days later in the U.S. on November 11th.
Sound off below with your thoughts!
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7 Comments
I think Leonardo will surely get a nomination for an Academy Award. I think he’ll get a Oscar nomination at least. He is incredible and he is amazing. And I think he will get it. It’s an incredible performance, just wonderful.
huh!? It’s only the trailer, the film could end up being terrible.
Does anyone else think that DiCaprio with the aged make up looks a lot like Orson Welles in Citizen Kane?
And does anyone else think this is standard Eastwood oscar-bait shlock?
Leo deserves a oscar hopefully he’ll get it with this one
Leo should be retroactively awarded an Oscar for his performance in The Aviator. Shockingly brilliant performance. He’ll probably eventually win for something lesser, but I don’t know here. I was initially excited for this but I’m growing more and more skeptical.
Ryan, I’m curious as to your reasons of skepticism? Merely poking and prodding for some opinions!
I’m not too sure about the accent but this kind of performance is close to Howard Hughes… It’s a bit of a repeat in my opinion, character-wise. Controversial, American “icons” who deteriorated over time and lost their “edge.” But I’ll be interested to see what Eastwood does with the historical events involved in the Hoover administration. I’m a big Josh Lucas fan so I hope his part is bigger than the trailer suggests (was he even in it because I didn’t see him). I’m still enthused by the cast. I hope Eastwood doesn’t take too easy and formulaic a route. We’ll have to wait and see.