An overflow crowd waited patiently outside the Yountville Community Center just prior to sunset, eager to take in the latest effort from Oscar-winning actor/director Eastwood. Most made it into the 300-seat venue; some had to wait for the second screening which attracted a nearly full house.
Some two-and-a-half years in the making, the first Napa Valley Film Festival was off to a promising start Wednesday, noted co-producer Marc Lhormer, with screenings of other films in Napa, St. Helena and Calistoga in addition to the Warner Bros. premiere offering.
Lhormer told the sneak preview night crowd that he and his wife, Brenda — who’s serving as festival co-director — felt the Napa Valley is “such a fantastic festival environment.” With venues spread throughout the valley from Calistoga to Napa, he hoped filmgoers would take the opportunity to enjoy not only screenings of a variety of films on the five-day playbill but also what each of the communities had to offer.
Yountville Mayor John Dunbar said he and fellow town council members were proud to kick off the festival with the “J. Edgar” screenings. He predicted this would be “only the first of many successful years” of the town participating in the Napa Valley Film Festival.
Dunbar and a packed house of first-nighters spent the next two-and-a-quarter hours engrossed in Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black’s (“Milk”) exploration of the public and private life of one of the most powerful, controversial and enigmatic figures of the 20th century. Hoover founded the F.B.I. in 1935 and remained director until his death in 1972.
As head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for nearly 50 years, the film points out that Hoover would stop at nothing to protect his country. Through eight presidents and three wars, Hoover waged battle against threats both real and perceived, often bending the rules to keep his countrymen safe. His methods were both ruthless and heroic, with the admiration of the world his most coveted, if ever elusive, prize.
DiCaprio captures the very essence of a man who placed great value on secrets — particularly those of others — and was not afraid to use that information to exert authority over the leading figures in the nation.
Eastwood has also incorporated a touching love story, focusing throughout on the close, yet often strained relationship between Hoover and his assistant, Clyde Tolson, sensitively portrayed by Armie Hammer. The film also features Judi Dench as Hoover’s domineering mother and Naomi Watts as long-time personal secretary Helen Gandy. Eastwood also composed the incidental music for the film.
Following the screening, many of the festival passholders, VIPs, industry insiders and media adjourned to Yountville’s Groezinger Estate House for the Sneak Night After-Party, enjoying hearty savories and sweets prepared by Cuvée restaurant chef Jordan Mackey and his crew and the Sugar Mama Bakery, paired with wines from Mi Sueno and Domaine Chandon.
Thursday night’s scheduled stellar opening night film is “The Descendants,” the new Fox Searchlight film starring George Clooney. It is to be screened twice at the Napa Valley Opera House. Featuring taste treats from some two dozen area chefs, the post-premiere Opening Night Gala is to be held at the Robert Mondavi Winery in Oakville.
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