Movie Review: “Frost/Nixon”
Frank Langella and Michael Sheen in “Frost/Nixon.”
Rating: 80
“Frost/Nixon” deftly chronicles a historical moment when an unlikely interviewer finally got answers from the 37th President of the United States. It is a showcase for superlative acting, an incisive look at a disgraced leader living in exile in his own country, and a sharp-eyed depiction of a since-transformed media landscape.
In 1977, former President Richard Nixon (Frank Langella) was holed up in San Clemente, Calif., licking his wounds from Watergate and trying to craft a competing legacy. At this point, David Frost (Michael Sheen), the playboy BBC presenter known for variety shows and softball interviews, seemed to Nixon like a useful fool, a man out of his depth who could give Nixon a wide berth for recasting his presidency in a better light.
Of course, that is not what happened. Frost tried in vain to get a U.S. network to buy his multi-night interview special, but because of the host’s lightweight reputation and his payment to Nixon for the pleasure, all of them balked. Then Frost cobbled together financing, sold the special to syndication, assembled a strong team of investigative journalists to sift through Nixon’s past, and created one of the most indelible moments in television history.
Since Nixon’s resignation, several actors have tried their hand at Tricky Dick, and most wind up with broad caricatures built on the man’s ticks and quirks. Sometimes, as was the case with Dan Hedaya in “Dick,” it’s what the movie needs, but too often it comes down to mumbling and jowl-shaking.
In sharp contrast, Langella seems to have merged himself with Nixon, all the way down to his carriage and eye movements. It’s not an impersonation, but a fully realized performance. Langella is utterly believable and cuts to the heart of Nixon’s character, achieving the great trick of making him sympathetic without whitewashing Nixon’s obvious faults. A scene in which an addled Nixon places a rambling, late-night phone call to Frost chillingly captures the paranoia often heard in the president’s tape recordings.
Director Ron Howard and screenwriter Peter Morgan, who wrote the original stage play, structure “Frost/Nixon” almost like a boxing match, with the weary opponents retiring to their corners before another bruising round. Nixon scores in the early rounds, but Frost rallies and scores a knockout — one that James Reston Jr., the earnest researcher played by Sam Rockwell, thought the courts should have delivered.
Most of all, Howard once again displays his considerable and often overlooked gift for historical drama — a real sense of time and place is achieved in “Frost/Nixon.” That “you are there” quality, combined with Langella’s moving and insightful work, brings this history to life.
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only 80 ???