Sentence Review
This is a grim and vibrant, dark and captivating biographical film.
——"Los Angeles Times"
as a period biopic, this film is undoubtedly a master work; few films can so lightly tell the seventy years of time.
-- "Chicago Sun",
while far from perfect, is Eastwood's most meaningful and ambitious film since the "Iwo Jima" two-part film.
- "Village Voice" behind the
scenes production
Biopics of legendary figures
Hoover was once the most powerful man in American history, and he was also a man who called the wind and rain. At the age of 29, he became the director of the Department of Justice Bureau of Investigation and established it as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is known as the FBI. Shooting such a well-known figure was no easy feat for Clint Eastwood, because if the script wasn't so strong, he could easily have made Hoover a one-sided, contrived , lifeless simple image.
As for Hoover's image in the script, Eastwood said: "Blake created the image of a very successful character, he was complex and entangled. It was the basis of a full character. Then Blake wrote Hoover in the In an environment of constant change and conflict, this makes a great stage for the characters. Hoover is a man with a lot of story and content to dig, and his sexuality is just one of the least important parts of this complexity On the other hand. He's very smart, and whether that ingenuity is used in the right place or not, it's undeniable that he's a smart guy and he always puts himself in the right place, which is a very interesting thing From that perspective, it would be a very interesting and dramatic biopic." The film's screenwriter, Blake, also didn't want to oversimplify the characters' experiences, said the young gay screenwriter who wrote "Milk." : "I wanted to write Hoover's story not just because he was gay, but more importantly because of his time and life that interested me. Like Milk, he was a representative of an era. Through his story, We can better understand the content and meaning of the era. Therefore, although this is a biopic, it is also a movie about the choices of people in a special position in a special era. If I were to ask, I would prefer Think of him as a drama that tells the story of a person's life."
Hoover's sexuality
is similar to Dustin Lance Black's last work, Milk, where the main character, Hoover Before his death, there were many scandals such as "he is gay" and "is a transvestite". But in the eyes of Eastwood and Leonardo DiCaprio, it doesn't matter if he's gay or not. And this movie is not a gay movie.
Eastwood said: "I have heard a lot of rumors about Hoover being gay, and a lot of these rumors are out of nowhere, just because Hoover was never married in his life, someone said he was gay. In fact, it was caused by the times. misunderstanding. In the 1940s, if a man didn't get married, someone would think he had a problem. Also, Hoover had a perennial partner in the FBI, a man named Clyde Tolson who never married A lot of people would think that there must be some kind of story between these two men. If you write the script from this angle, it can write a very good, or a great love story, a gay story. But , it's not a movie about two gay men, it's a movie about how one person affects society, ZF, and the environment. I mean, in the movie, I don't care who he is Not gay.” Leonardo DiCaprio, who played Hoover in the film, also had little interest in Hoover’s sexuality, saying: “This film is about Hoover, and the focus is on His work and impact on American society and the controversies surrounding this man. And his personal life, sexuality, or why he didn't get married is not the point of this movie. If I were a guy who liked to gamble, Then I won't bet with others on whether Hoover is gay or not. Those are all rumors and rumors, and there is no need to be so serious. Whether he is gay or not is not important to this movie at all.
" role
There are many big-name actors in the film, but the most anticipated of these is Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays Hoover. Because in the film, DiCaprio is going to play Hoover from youth to old age. Such a time span is obviously difficult to play. DiCaprio said: "This is a good opportunity to exercise myself, and I also hope to play such a role with a huge time span, a rich inner world, and complex relationships. And the lines in the film are extremely well written. The connotation, almost every sentence means something. I'm tired of playing the role in front of the camera that just requires you to mechanically say your lines, and now I prefer the image of the word here and the meaning of the other. "Hoover" gave me such a rare opportunity, and of course I won't let it go. It's not easy to play the role of Hoover, because the character is so complicated, so many inner activities, and Eastwood There are also many psychological dramas arranged for me. However, I am still very happy to get this role, because I am not playing someone else, but Hoover, who even I admire myself. He established the FBI, intervened in the Vietnam War, and investigated The people who have influenced American history like the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and JFK. That alone excites me.”
In addition to the complexity of the character itself, Hoover’s difficulty in playing lies in Iss The emotion and projection that Turwood pours into the character. Typically, Eastwood researches characters on his own before filming begins. This film is no exception. After Blake handed him the finished script, he found a lot of Hoover's writings and materials to study one by one. Eastwood said: "I found a lot of information, interviewed a lot of people who had worked with Hoover, the purpose is to make this character more flesh and blood. Because this is a historical figure, there is no historical event. There is too much drama, but in life, belief and other aspects, there is a lot of room to shape the image. And the characters are adorned and full of these trivial details. This richness and complexity, give DiCaprio's performance posed a challenge. But he did a great job."
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