Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images"It's not a movie about two gay guys. I don't give a crap if he was gay or not," barked J. Edgar's outspoken director, Clint Eastwood, recently to GQ.
But from the looks of the just-released trailer, we beg to disagree with you, Clint.
And while you might not give a crap about J. Edgar's sexuality, we think his long-term relaysh with Clyde Tolson (played by Armie Hammer) has everything to do with Hoover's demeanor.
So how's the gay factor into the flick?
Not so gay actually...just yet.
While the trailer focuses on themes such as trust, corruption and moral values, we can't deny that a man respected and feared for discovering everyone else's peccadilloes had some serious issues, and secrets, of his own.
The trailer alludes to those secrets—we see Hoover grips Tolson's hand in the back of a taxi—but the overall focus is shifted toward Hoover's FBI work and away any forbidden love.
But if the flick doesn't address all of Hoover's turmoil, how will the audience understand such a complex character?
Leave that to DiCaprio. The word Oscar is already floating around this movie. Tho, tread carefully, Leo, because we think if you don't embrace Hoover's rumored romance, then a concrete explanation for his inner turmoil is stripped from the story.
Bottom line? You can't talk Hoover without talking gay, and since Leo and Eastwood seem to want all of us to focus on everything but Hoover's sexuality, we have to wonder how successful the movie is truly going to be.
No doubt, both DiCaprio and Eastwood are down playing the gay factor. Not only is the film's writer, Milk's Dustin Lance Black, openly out and proud, but we know there's a major smooch scene between Leo and Armie.
We're thrilled about this film, if they can pull it off.