Frost/Nixon

In the aftermath of the Richard Nixon resignation of 1974, English television personality David Frost saw an opportunity to conduct a candid interview with the 37th president, and perhaps gain some American notoriety as well as raise some much needed income. Things didn't quite work out the way he intended.

Nixon's advisers encouraged him to take the interview, as it would be easier than confronting Mike Wallace, and Frost offered up a substantial fee that Nixon was naturally drawn to. The unconventional thing was that Frost did so without the networks, and without any pending corporate sponsorship. Essentially, he put up $600,000 out of his own pocket confidently expecting revenue and fame.

The agreement was to be four 90 minute television interview segments contractually broken into Nixon's life, domestic affairs, foreign policy, and finally - Watergate.

What drives this story is Nixon's Frank Langella. My pick (so far) for best actor of the year honors. He conveys the larger than life Nixon with such professionalism, that at times you forget he is acting and become absorbed in the man's intelligent, yet obviously sinister visage.

The story hinges on the tense and successful game of cat and mouse. An ignorantly over matched Frost gets into a verbal spar with the silver-tongued Nixon, and from the opening question, you can see the look of fear and regret in his face. Over the next few sessions, the ball is entirely in Nixon's court, and his advisers couldn't be more pleased. The climax leads Frost to solicit a confession and apology about Watergate, and Langella's prolongued close up shows the pain and loneliness of a man burdened by his transgressions. It is a truly stirring and riveting finale.

The supporting cast does a great job of staying in the background - they are collectively memorable, but there are intentionally no standout performances so that the emphasis and attention can be focused on the interaction between Frost and Nixon. Very nice subtle job done by Ron Howard as well with the direction. There was little ancillary information - just enough in the intro about the impeachment and resignation so as not to bog down the story with political theories or obvious liberal Hollywood motives. Likewise with Frost's character. He was a well known English and Australian talk show host and entertainer, but his celebrity wasn't as well known in America, and that fact wasn't glorified or belittled.

It is difficult to describe why this film won't win many awards despite its deserved nominations. Langella may very well walk out with Best Actor, but this frankly wasn't the best film of the year. Like Milk, it contains an incontrovertibly amazing lead performance, but the story may be a little too serious (biopic), and not imaginative enough to coax the votes out of the academy members.

The story is something I knew little about (alright - nothing) and although it is monumental in its own right, I have personally become a little desensitized to many of the cinematic recreations of important moments in history - I am more of a fan of realistic fiction or historical fiction. I suppose I see little creativity in the process of recreating transcripts and personal accounts of events and conversations.

Either way, this film was well done, and Langella shines in ways that he never has before. He is Richard Nixon, and his delivery of dialogue and facial tics, posturing and other nuances of tricky Dick are awe-inspiring. This film is worth it to see him alone. 8/10.