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Movie Review by:
Jim "Good Old JR" Rutkowski
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Directed by:
Ron Howard
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Written by:
Peter Morgan, adapted by him from his stage play of the same name.
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Starring:
Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Sam Rockwell, |
Running time:
122 minutes
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Released:
12/05/08
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Rated R
for some language |
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"Howard's the ideal director for this material-he's a careful and
intelligent craftsman who gives the material on the page the best
presentation..."
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If “Frost/Nixon” were merely a beautifully shaped re-creation of a moment in
history – a moment that sealed forever the legacy of a man who could have been a
great U.S. president – it would be worth a look. But as a reminder of the world
we live in 31 years later, where the term “imperial presidency” resonates just
as strongly, it's as sadly topical as any documentary about the Iraq War.
A crucial moment comes when interviewer David Frost (Michael Sheen) asks Richard
Nixon (Frank Langella) if the president should be allowed to commit illegal
acts. “I'm saying,” scoffs Nixon, “that if the president does it, it's not
illegal.” We can debate whether George W. Bush's executive actions have helped
or hurt the country, but his claim to presidential “authority” puts Nixon's in
the shade.
If you didn't live through Watergate, it's hard to imagine how shocking it
seemed to an America that had passed civil rights legislation and walked on the
moon in the previous decade. (When I heard about the burglary, I was a sophomore
in high school and still inclined to believe that our government generally had
citizens' interests at heart).
The script, adapted by Peter Morgan from his Tony-nominated play, sets up the
Watergate history just well enough for the uninitiated to know where they stand
in the early part of the film. Most of it takes place in 1977, when both title
characters aimed to improve their reputations.
Frost wanted to prove he wasn't fit only for lightweight talk shows or satirical
news revues, so he risked his own money to underwrite a series of four
interviews with Nixon. The former president appreciated the half-million-dollar
payday but was more excited about resuscitating his reputation: If he could get
Frost to stress his positive achievements, which even his detractors had to
acknowledge, he might again influence the Republican Party.
Morgan and director Ron Howard set the film up as a boxing match. In Nixon's
corner stands ex-Marine Jack Brennan (Kevin Bacon), more rigidly devoted to the
president's cause than the man himself, and future journalist Diane Sawyer (Kate
Jennings Grant). Frost enlists lefty writers James Reston Jr. (Sam Rockwell) and
Bob Zelnick (Oliver Platt) as cornermen, hoping their research will provide
ammunition for a knockout blow on Watergate.
Howard's the ideal director for this material: He has never had great
imagination, but he's a careful and intelligent craftsman who gives the material
on the page the best presentation, and his knowledge of camera angles and pacing
serves Morgan beautifully.
Langella and Sheen created these roles on Broadway and inhabit them fully. Sheen
will be overlooked at awards time, because his character is so low-key: The
softly ingratiating Frost never lets himself get too carried away in love (with
bemused Rebecca Hall) or war under the studio lights.
Subtle as Langella is, he has the showier role. He doesn't mimic Nixon so much
as settle into his bearlike, shuffling walk and suspicious glare. He catches
that “don't tread on me” quality in Nixon's voice; the ex-president forever
baits enemies and tests friends, as if afraid he won't be able to tell one from
the other.
Langella has always been a cerebral actor, one who never gives away all he's
thinking. What comes through in this portrayal is how smart Nixon was, whether
he's cunningly probing Frost's weaknesses or pitching himself to TV viewers as
an avuncular, misunderstood Cold Warrior.
That was the man's tragedy, of course. To endure the fumbling's of any stupid
president is a sad thing. But to see a potentially brilliant leader trip over
his own ego and paranoia, as Nixon did, is a waste to make the gods weep. |
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FROST NIXON
© 2009 Universal Pictures
All Rights Reserved
Review © 2009 Alternate Reality, Inc.
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