J. Edgar

I've been a fan of Leonardo DiCaprio since I first saw him on Growing Pains. His big breakout role was the mentally disabled kid in What's Eating Gilbert Grape. Most child actors when they come out with such a great role at such a young age its hard to maintain that status. It's like a drug addict trying to relive that first high.

Leonardo worked with some big stars and when he did Basketball Diaries it just blew me away. I didn't think he would ever be able to top that performance. I was write up until he did the film, The Departed. Before this it was hard to see him as an adult actor. His boyish looks didn't make it believeable. I understand how looking young can have good a bad points. People tend to only see the exterior. So, when he did Revolutionary Road I was hoping it would be a better film, but I was disappointed. Now with J. Edgar this is the film that should finally allow Leonardo DiCaprio to join the Oscar club. He's matured as a person and it was as if Clint Eastwood knew he could pull it off.

There were many reasons I wanted to see this film after finding out Leonardo would have the lead. This was a crucial moment in history, but there was a deeper story that we heard about, but you're not always sure its true. An artist can take come creative liscense such as what Oliver Stone did with JFK, but you don't want to go too far out on the ledge. I had always heard that J. Edgar liked wearing womens underwear under his suit. We don't see that in the film, but we do get an insight on the impact his mother had on him and we see him struggle with his sexual identity.

There are a lot of actors helping Leonardo DiCaprio bring his character to life, but he commands the screen. I just wish the story hadn't been told in flashbacks. I could have done without the narration, but other than that it's a good movie and I'm going to want to add it to my collection.

If you are a fan of Leonardo DiCaprio, check out this film and others that you may not have seen. Even though The Beach was not such a great box office success its an interesting film. Romeo and Juliet is also an interesting adaptation of the classic William Shakespeare story of young love from different sides of the class struggle.