Here comes another play to the big screen. Ron Howard directs with the same actors from the dramatization. And my, it's good. Michael Sheen and Frank Langella as Frost & Nixon respectively fit oh so nicely.
Howard goes for a realistic docudrama approach, featuring "interviews" with the main players in this movie. I think this is what makes it work - that this happened, and we would just love to see how it ended up like that. Despite the fact that this happened thirty years ago, there is an amount of tension and anticipation that is present in this movie that keeps you glued. And of course, the subtle verbal sparring of Frost and Nixon.
It's based on the Frost/Nixon interviews and indeed, some bits of dialogue in this movie (and the play, I would imagine) are lifted verbatim from them. So some of you would come to this movie familiar with the details. The film, though, gives you some context (never mind that some parts are fictional) about the interviews, so you come in with a better appreciation.
There can only be one.
Still, as tight as this movie is, there are some parts that are clearly disjointed like a scene where a drunken Nixon calls Frost. This didn't actually happen and it's quite clear that its inclusion was to add dimension and a touch of tragedy to both characters. But the end result, I felt, was something that did not fit with the Nixon we (or at least, I )knew. The Nixon we know is the Nixon of the history books, television, papers. Anything more, and you're introducing us to someone we do not know. Which may work, but since the movie strives for realism, it ends up alienating us.
This movie is a drama, but also a thriller of sorts. It is also a sad show that highlights the aftermath of a sad fall. To this end Langella is superb as a fading Nixon. And this movie is about that - a scandal that led to the fall of a president, and the people who so badly want a confession nevermind that they knew that he was guilty all along.
Howard goes for a realistic docudrama approach, featuring "interviews" with the main players in this movie. I think this is what makes it work - that this happened, and we would just love to see how it ended up like that. Despite the fact that this happened thirty years ago, there is an amount of tension and anticipation that is present in this movie that keeps you glued. And of course, the subtle verbal sparring of Frost and Nixon.
It's based on the Frost/Nixon interviews and indeed, some bits of dialogue in this movie (and the play, I would imagine) are lifted verbatim from them. So some of you would come to this movie familiar with the details. The film, though, gives you some context (never mind that some parts are fictional) about the interviews, so you come in with a better appreciation.
There can only be one.
Still, as tight as this movie is, there are some parts that are clearly disjointed like a scene where a drunken Nixon calls Frost. This didn't actually happen and it's quite clear that its inclusion was to add dimension and a touch of tragedy to both characters. But the end result, I felt, was something that did not fit with the Nixon we (or at least, I )knew. The Nixon we know is the Nixon of the history books, television, papers. Anything more, and you're introducing us to someone we do not know. Which may work, but since the movie strives for realism, it ends up alienating us.
This movie is a drama, but also a thriller of sorts. It is also a sad show that highlights the aftermath of a sad fall. To this end Langella is superb as a fading Nixon. And this movie is about that - a scandal that led to the fall of a president, and the people who so badly want a confession nevermind that they knew that he was guilty all along.
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