Frost/Nixon Review

Frank Langella plays a damn fine Nixon to the point that he IS Frost/Nixon. Langella gives an Oscar worthy perfomance in the film about the David Frost interview with Richard Nixon where the former president confessed about Watergate.

Michael Sheen (The Queen) plays Frost, a playboy type British celebrity talk show host looking for more than the fame he's achieved. During the Nixon's administrations screw up regarding Watergate Frost seizes the moment and hires along with his producer (played by Matthew Macfadyen) two men, one an author one a news journalist, to help develop an attack strategy with the Nixon interviews.

Sheen and Langella play the interviews like a game. Each move makes one of them a winner or a looser. Even Nixon tells Frost that he loves a good duel. And a duel they have with Nixon inevitably destroying Nixon's reputation. But the best scene of the movie is one in which a drunk Richard Nixon calls Frost drunk in a heated speech regarding college life and not fitting in. Director Ron Howard makes up sympathize with Nixon though in this moment. We rarely see directly the tragedies that occurred because of him and many parallels are drawn between Nixon and Frost. Both being go-getter's and giving something their all in a society that is holding them back.

Sheen himself is an underrated actor. The man was understated in The Queen and here is somewhat annoying. His speech patterns slur on like a drunkard and is constantly playing second fiddle to the lead Langella. Sam Rockwell and Oliver Platt are good as the other two "Crock investigators" and Kevin Bacon is note worthy as one of the secret service men to Nixon. Bacon's character really cares for the welfare of the president even when no one else does.

Frost/Nixon ends up being most comparable to this years Man on Wire. Both are true stories told in talking-heads fashion (of course Man on Wire IS a documentary but still...) and end up making their somewhat dull source material fast moving and beautiful to watch. Grade - A-