Popcorn & a Movie

Directed by Ron Howard and adapted from his own Tony-winning play by Peter Morgan, Frost/Nixon is a brilliantly tempered account of the drama surrounding the post-Watergate interviews between our deposed president and a British/Australian talk show host. Historically reminiscent and insightful, it often comes off as a History Channel program, with the same detail-labored pacing and dawdle. But what appears at first to be simple and slow is in actuality an expertly choreographed showdown, a fight night featuring an aged champ and the snappy newcomer challenging his crown. Frost/Nixon fits the mold of every great boxing flick, complete with trainers, training, rounds, corners, bobs, weaves and uppercuts. Only the weapons are not fists, but wits and words. It’s a battle of wills, a series of jibs and jabs exchanged along the way to a powerful K.O. In the end, it’s as much a sports movie as The Wrestler.
But that’s just the framework, the expertly crafted structure that allows the players to play. Above all, Frost/Nixon is two things: a political statement and an actor’s showpiece, layered with surprisingly balanced characters for these talented thespians to dig into. Here, Nixon isn’t a cartoonish, Anthony Hopkins-like villain but a human being who did horrible things. Played by Frank Langella with as much enthusiasm and accuracy as you’ll ever find, Nixon seems almost personable, understandable, and always real.
Likewise, Michael Sheen brings a third dimension to David Frost’s televised persona, hacking into his vulnerability, the chasms of self-doubt sealed off by a simple-minded front. The film portrays each man as at first unaware of the importance of their actions, Nixon too self-important to truly care, and Frost too flighty to realize the heft of his quest. It’s when each realizes he’s in way over his head that the gravity of the situation really takes hold, and the film executes its power play.
Still, how relevant can a 30-year-old Nixon interview be? There’s a great faction of our country (director Howard being one) who would impress upon you that it is extremely relevant. Frost/Nixon is/was above all else an inquisition, a quest for an admission, an apology owed to millions of Americans. Now, in 2009, a great many people are looking for the same thing. Langella may be a dead-on Richard Nixon (his performance is truly transformative), but it’s another president’s face we see when that final blow comes.
Frost/Nixon accomplishes what W. could not.