Frost/Nixon

GREAT MOVIE

This movie was beautifully crafted by director Ron Howard. It includes excellent performances, particularly by Frank Langella who plays president Richard Nixon. The story centers around the controversy that occurred under Nixon's administration, or the "Watergate Scandal." To clarify for those who slept through American history in high school (including myself) Nixon, a republican, gave the OK to wiretap democratic headquarters in order to attain confidential information during his term. Consequently his accomplices were caught, and Nixon was the first president in US history to resign from office. That's huge.

What makes this movie so compelling is that it makes a non-fiction political drama interesting. I find, and I may not be alone on this one, that most political movies are wordy, can make one feel slightly uneducated, and let's be honest.... they're boring.What separates Frost/Nixon from the rest is that Howard makes the story uncannily attainable. Living in the 2000's (or whatever they like to call call it these days) I didn't think a film about a scandal that occurred in the early 70's would strike my fancy. But it did. Rather than focusing on Watergate itself, the film focuses on the years following Nixon's resignation. When Nixon resigned, he was pardoned and never actually confessed to the crime he committed. Many interviewers hoped for a confession, but what they got from Nixon was mere rhetoric. Nixon was tough because he was an intellectual and a word-master. One of these interviewers, David Frost, played by a mediocre Michael Sheen, put his heart and soul into attaining an interview. And I'll just leave it at that...

The suspense was real, I felt the agony and anxiety of the actors, and longed to know the how the film ended (and let's just stay I left satisfied, which is usually a make-it-or-break-it for me in terms of my overall assessment). The numerous close-ups on the actors spoke volumes about their fears and hopes. Langella makes you simultaneously hate and sympathize with Nixon. And from what I hear, that's certainly a remarkable feat.

SEE IT> LEARN SOMETHING> BE SATISFIED