Frost/Nixon

First off, this is the first of hopefully many reviews. I call this Middle of Nowhere reviews because I am writing out of a small town in Southern Indiana and my options for watching a film in a theater in my hometown right now are: Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Gran Torino, Hotel for Dogs, and Tales of Desperaux. No Slumdog Millionaire, no Wrestler, no Revolutionary Road, no Reader, etc. So I try to go to the theater 45 minutes away when I get a chance, but even that theater doesn't have The Wrestler yet. I could go to Evansville, but they don't have it, either. The point of all this is that even people in the Midwest want to see so-called prestige films. I want to see Mickey Rourke, not because he got nominated and is favored to win, but because I read about the project months ago. I could just download it I guess, but I won't. Films are meant to be seen in the theater, not the computer screen. So that's my opening rant: if you're as unfortunate as me, then the weekend of my review will make sense. If you're a lucky person living on the coast or in the bigger cities, then you can read my reviews with a fond remembrance of that movie that came out two months ago and wonder why some hick is still writing about it. So, without anymore complaining, my first blog/review for Frost/Nixon.

First let me point out that I am very interested in all things Richard Nixon so I may have found this film a bit more entertaining and compelling than others. That said, I also think Nixon was a great president (he had faults, of course, but the man did some great things) so my biggest concern with this is a Nixon-esque fear of how he would be portrayed. I thought that the liberal Hollywood elite would make him out to be a crazy, defeated monster. Well, they didn't. I think he was treated fairly in this film, aside from a few yelling scenes when Langella is dangerously close to a Futurama/SNL version of the man. But those scenes are very few. He is handled in this film quite like a mythological being. You see his feet before the camera pans up to him and there are reaction shots as everyone stops to watch him, people shake his hand right after saying they would never shake his hand because he is such an evil man, etc. In other words, people are in awe of him. I found this to be the perfect way to treat any president in our history. No matter how much you hate the man, you are still impressed, that's why he became president. It wasn't some kind of luck or anything, the man has presence and it can be intimidating. That is the point of this film. You take Frost, played by Michael Sheen who is quite impressive (he is perfect for looking dumbfounded by Nixon at times), who is a kind of a joke when it comes to journalism and he tries to go up against a more experienced Nixon, who had spent most of his life handling difficult questions. This makes for some interesting scenes that end up being like a boxing match (which it is referred to as by Kevin Bacon's character at one point).

That boxing match dynamic works well. You begin to judge the interviews in your head: one point for Nixon, Frost is looking dazed, Nixon is almost out for the count, etc. Howard deserves a bit of credit for turning something as boring as an interview session into an emotionally violent fight. I have heard some issues over the in-movie interviews with actors playing their parts years later. I did not have a problem with it. Yes, sometimes they were basically telling the audience what had just happened and it could be a bit condescending, but for the most part I enjoyed their commentary on what had happened and it made the film flow a bit easier. So I felt that it worked. This may not be for everybody, but I think most people will enjoy it if they give it a chance. Langella is great, aside from the yelling; he really does create the essence of Nixon: aware, nervous, intelligent, funny, awkward, angry, bitter, depressed, lonely...all of this is done through great voice work and facial expression. Even more impressive is the fact that he doesn't really look like Nixon, but you believe he is. Sheen stands up to him well, and the supporting cast is full of entertaining performances.

Is it the best film of the year? No. Does it even deserve the nomination? Maybe not, but I think it is certainly worthy of it. It's not going to win anyway, so I'm just glad to see a film about this topic nominated.

Eric Harris - www.canneltoncritic.com

Frost/Nixon has a few interesting special features, but the best thing you could do is just rent the actual interviews on DVD. Other than that, the special features are worth a watch, but they don't add much background for the story. I enjoyed the look at Nixon's presidential library, but I have an interest (some might call it a creepy obsession) with Nixon, so it may not appeal to most people. I also want to reiterate the boxing-match aspect from my original review. There is a scene in this movie where Nixon is told that there is something he should see as an aide turns on an interview with David Frost. Think about Rocky for a minute. There is an identical scene in which Apollo Creed is told to watch a clip of Rocky training. I think that the filmmakers were completely aware of the comparison and added it to hammer home the boxing aspect of the film.

Eric Harris - www.canneltoncritic.com

**USA

While initially reluctant to watch a movie that was "only" about an interview with an ill-reputed politician from the 70s, all doubts were gone with the wind, pretty much as soon as it started. The actual interview turned out to be more exciting than any boxing match we'd ever seen, and definitely more intellectually stimulating.

For some, back in the 70s, Richard Nixon was the personification of evil. But what this movie sets out to show is that there's hope for anyone who is willing to admit their mistakes.

There IS no spoon!

Last updated: 2010-03-13 06:53:21 by McDozer

I am doing some house cleaning on 2008 movies so I can publish my best and worst of 2008 article which is coming very soon. I wanted to revisit 'Frost/Nixon' after seeing the real Frost/Nixon interviews which is available on DVD. I must say Peter Morgan and Ron Howard do a pretty decent job of re-creating these interviews. They do make it much more dramatic in the movie when Frost grills Nixon. For example in the movie there is some shouting but in the real interviews it was more low key. The real hook here is the great performances and Oscar caliber work by Langella and Sheen. There is a great supporting cast and a wonderful recreation of the late 70's. This might be Ron Howard's most assured and best job of directing but that doesn't make it his best movie. 'Parenthood' and 'Apollo 13' are his finest movies. I didn't love this movie but I was enthralled by it and glued to the screen. Langella and Sheen are so good and Rebecca Hall, who has impressed me so far, is nice to look at and a good actress and a star in the making

Vincent Snavely

Last updated: 2010-02-14 23:47:52 by user04

Last updated: 2010-01-18 14:49:39 by malikaziz