Frost/Nixon

Jeri Jacquin, Movie Maven

Opening in theatres this Friday is a riveting true story about President Richard Millhouse Nixon and celebrity David Frost with Ron Howard and Imagine Entertainment’s release of “Frost/Nixon”.

In this film it has been three years since Richard Nixon (Frank Langella) stepped down from the Presidency under the scandal of Watergate. Around the same time, television talk show host David Frost (Michael Sheen) decided that he wanted to get the interview of a lifetime with the former commander-in-chief.

Frost enlists the help of John Birt (Matthew MacFadyen) to reach out for financial backing for the enterprise. Birt looks for help from journalists James Reston Jr. (Sam Rockwell) and Bob Zelnick (Oliver Platt) to set up the history and questions for Nixon to answer. 

But they must first get Nixon to agree and to the surprise of the top networks – he does. Agent Irving ‘Swifty’ Lazar (Toby Jones) makes the financial deal with Nixon calling the shots. Now the game of cat and mouse begins as Frost realizes he is dealing with a man who knows how to play the game.

As the interviews progress, each man begins to realize what is at stake, their own insecurities, and a belief in what is right. In one scene Frost asks, “Are you saying the President can do something illegal?” to which Nixon replies, “I’m saying when the President does it, it is not illegal!” 

With that one sentence it becomes Frosts’ mission to get from Nixon the one thing he believes the American people wanted most of all…a confession and an apology.

FINAL WORD: This film is absolutely riveting to watch. Michael Sheen as Frost captures the character so well I saw him as Frost! He was amazing in his role as Prime Minister Tony Blair in “The Queen” and he has done it once again with this film.

Frank Langella is eerie as Nixon. Granted there is only a faint resemblance but Langella took the facial expressions to a whole new level. As the pressure of the Nixon interviews go along Langella withers into a beaten Nixon that is painful to see.

The banter between Sheen and Langella as these two powerful characters is astounding to watch. It is a dance between these two actors with an ending that brings the viewer not only a sense of the times, but the sadness of a presidency that would only be remembered for its wrongs.

Sam Rockwell as Reston is passionate till the end and Oliver Platt as Bob Zelnick gives his expected brilliant performance. Matthew MacFadyen as John Birt is excellent in his supporting role and his support of Frost. Jones as Lazar is the laid back agent with a killer instinct for getting the dollars.

Kevin Bacon as Jack Brennan is protective not only of Nixon himself, but also of the high ideals of the presidency and never questions the rights or wrongs of his leader. There is also a small role by Rebecca Hall as Frosts’ girlfriend Caroline Cushing.

Director Ron Howard took the stage play by Peter Morgan and brought it to screen with fantastic results. Morgan was responsible for the moving films “The Last King of Scotland” and “The Queen”.

Do not be surprised if Oscar nods are in this films future.

TUBS OF POPCORN: I give “Frost/Nixon” four tubs of popcorn out of five. It is a revealing look at a behind the scenes tale of two men. One coming to grips with who he is and the other who he became. It is the audiences’ choice as to which is which.

In the end, 400 million people were waiting for the truth…Frost/Nixon finally gave it to them.