The fall movie season is about to begin, and character-driven dramas should be just the thing to remedy me from a bad case of blockbuster fatigue. Weâve had our share of popcorn movies this summer, some great (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) and some painful (Green Lantern), but Iâm very much ready for the promising flicks slated for the second half of this year, including Clint Eastwoodâs biopic J. Edgar.Just yesterday we got our first official look at Leonardo DiCaprio as the titular character in the film, and now a few more images have been released, giving us our first look at Armie Hammer as Hooverâs confidant/purported lover Clyde Tolson. Additionally, Eastwood revealed that the film leaves much of Edgarâs sexuality up for debate. Hit the jump for the images and quotes from Eastwood.While Hooverâs rumored homosexuality was expected to play a role in the film, especially given that Milk scribe Dustin Lance Black wrote the screenplay, Eastwood tells EW that they went for a more ambiguous take:
âSome people might interpret it that way. Some people might say [he and Tolson] were just inseparable pals. Or maybe itâs a love story without being gay, I donât know. But itâs very interesting, the way Lance laid out the script. It was nicely written. It didnât go to the obvious.â
So it sounds like Blackâs script opted for a more nuanced approach, even though the article states that Black definitely believes Hooverâs âultimate mad grip on power was driven by his own suppressed desire.â However, Hammer has previously commented on the physical intimacy that occurs between his character and DiCaprio, so the film wonât be completely void of Hooverâs purported homosexuality. Regardless, Eastwoodâs biopic promises to be an intriguing character study and Iâm inclined to believe that DiCaprio will deliver another powerhouse performance. J. Edgar also stars Naomi Watts and Judi Dench. The film opens November 9th.
Here are the new images (via EW):