I like Leonardo DiCaprio often enough in movies, so why is it that half the time when he attaches himself to a project my first thought is ‘Not right for him?’ You’d think he would have overcome whatever weird biases I have at this point, but he hasn’t.
The latest film that gets a ‘Not right for him’ response from me is Clint Eastwood’s upcoming J. Edgar Hoover biopic. Somehow I just don’t see Leo as the head of the FBI, and that’s not even a visual thing – although visually Leo seems all wrong (I did, however, long ago learn to just chill about actors ‘looking like’ characters. Who gives a shit? Unless you’re casting Jackie Chan as George Washington it’s rarely that big of a deal). There’s just something not right about Leo’s energy when it comes to the Hoover that I know (third hand through books and movies). And that’s taking into account that this movie, written by Milk writer Dustin Lance Black, drops all the crossdressing stuff.
Normally I’d shrug it off, but I don’t really trust Eastwood’s instincts anymore, even though the movie itself – which focuses on the early days of the FBI – sounds intriguing. Then again, I’m not Eastwood’s target audience, as I’m not a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.