Robin Pottratz"Frost/Nixon" simmers with intense drama and powerful acting ***1/2 out of 4
February 9th 2009 01:52
One of the great joys in film viewing, is that everytime you enter a movie theatre...you have the potential to be surprised. I experienced such a surprise when I went to see Frost/Nixon. I knew that the movie had strong reviews...and numerous Oscar nominations to boot...yet, it was hard for me to generate real interest in seeing a film... based on a stage play...based on a television interview that was conducted over 30 years ago. Imagine my shock when Frost/Nixon turned out to be one of the most gripping and powerful dramas that I had seen all year.
Kudos first go to Director Ron Howard. Yes, he is very hit (Cinderella Man, Apollo 13) and miss (The Da Vinci Code, The Grinch) but in Frost/Nixon he raises his game, packing every scene with a sense of journalistic and investigative urgency that pins you to your seat. Working from an adapted screenplay from Peter Morgan (The Queen) based on his Tony winning play, Ron Howard has returned to form and crafted a brilliant telling of an important story about integrity and hubris.
The skill of both Howard and Morgan would be enough to make Frost/Nixon a solid film, but it is the actors who elevate this film into something great. Michael Sheen (The Queen) excels as British TV host David Frost, who prior to his idea to interview Nixon was known for interviewing such world power-players as The Bee Gees. When his sit down with Nixon becomes a reality he hires 3 investigators (Oliver Platt, Sam Rockwell, and Matthew Macfadyen), who each have their own agenda...but are united in a quest for truth.
The real star of this film however, is the legendary Frank Langella, who was recently nominated for an Oscar for his complete immersion as Richard Nixon. Langella doesn't particularly look like the 37th President of the United States, but he captures something more important...his self destructive tendencies and complete self loathing. Langella portrays Nixon as a man who can survive anything...except his own hubris. He knows that Nixon would ultimately take himself down...along with those who love and admire him, most notably Kevin Bacon as Jack Brennan, a former Marine, charged with protecting Nixon from both outside forces...and those within.
"I let down the American People"
That was the admission that David Frost was able to get out of tricky Dick after years of avoidance and dark secrets. Sheen and Langella play this scene for real and we feel every tense second in our bones. The other critical scene besides the final interview segment, takes the form of a phone call between the two adversaries. Nixon, drunkenly breaks down and shares the fears and ambitions of a man who truly loved his country but couldn't save it...or himself. It is a powerful scene and Langella delivers it with absolute skill that is rivaled by few. Even though this call didn't happen...Langella makes us understand its need and the sadness of a broken man.
Above all, Frost/Nixon is about that critical interview, where Nixon admitted to criminal acts and begged for forgiveness. Sheen delivers a very nuanced performance, especially in the final scenes, where he sees Nixon as what he is...a genuinely good man who cannot escape his own internalized flaws. However, this film belongs to Langella, in his towering performance as Richard Nixon, he takes a real life villain and uses him to break our hearts in a way that makes us forget the atrocities that he committed in the first place. Making Nixon sympathetic is the greatest gift that Langella and Frost/Nixon can give...and I fully accepted the surprise.
Kudos first go to Director Ron Howard. Yes, he is very hit (Cinderella Man, Apollo 13) and miss (The Da Vinci Code, The Grinch) but in Frost/Nixon he raises his game, packing every scene with a sense of journalistic and investigative urgency that pins you to your seat. Working from an adapted screenplay from Peter Morgan (The Queen) based on his Tony winning play, Ron Howard has returned to form and crafted a brilliant telling of an important story about integrity and hubris.
Frank Langella and Michael Sheen trade barbs in "Frost/Nixon"
The skill of both Howard and Morgan would be enough to make Frost/Nixon a solid film, but it is the actors who elevate this film into something great. Michael Sheen (The Queen) excels as British TV host David Frost, who prior to his idea to interview Nixon was known for interviewing such world power-players as The Bee Gees. When his sit down with Nixon becomes a reality he hires 3 investigators (Oliver Platt, Sam Rockwell, and Matthew Macfadyen), who each have their own agenda...but are united in a quest for truth.
The real star of this film however, is the legendary Frank Langella, who was recently nominated for an Oscar for his complete immersion as Richard Nixon. Langella doesn't particularly look like the 37th President of the United States, but he captures something more important...his self destructive tendencies and complete self loathing. Langella portrays Nixon as a man who can survive anything...except his own hubris. He knows that Nixon would ultimately take himself down...along with those who love and admire him, most notably Kevin Bacon as Jack Brennan, a former Marine, charged with protecting Nixon from both outside forces...and those within.
"I let down the American People"
That was the admission that David Frost was able to get out of tricky Dick after years of avoidance and dark secrets. Sheen and Langella play this scene for real and we feel every tense second in our bones. The other critical scene besides the final interview segment, takes the form of a phone call between the two adversaries. Nixon, drunkenly breaks down and shares the fears and ambitions of a man who truly loved his country but couldn't save it...or himself. It is a powerful scene and Langella delivers it with absolute skill that is rivaled by few. Even though this call didn't happen...Langella makes us understand its need and the sadness of a broken man.
Above all, Frost/Nixon is about that critical interview, where Nixon admitted to criminal acts and begged for forgiveness. Sheen delivers a very nuanced performance, especially in the final scenes, where he sees Nixon as what he is...a genuinely good man who cannot escape his own internalized flaws. However, this film belongs to Langella, in his towering performance as Richard Nixon, he takes a real life villain and uses him to break our hearts in a way that makes us forget the atrocities that he committed in the first place. Making Nixon sympathetic is the greatest gift that Langella and Frost/Nixon can give...and I fully accepted the surprise.
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