Frost/Nixon Review
by Wick (wick AT wikpik DOT com)December 24th, 2008
Great. 4 on a scale of 5 beams.
Funny and sad in equal measures, this brilliant movie brings to life the media event that put a postscript on one of the saddest chapters in American history.
Frank Langella's basso profundo voice and hulking presence cuttingly reveal Dick Nixon's nasty narcissism. Performances like this are why Best Actor awards exist, as evidenced by the Tony he won for this role. Broadway actors all too rarely bring their great roles to the silver screen. Thankfully Langella didn't have this one taken from him for the likes of Nicholson or Beatty.
Michael Sheen - not of the American Sheens - uncannily becomes yet another famous British personality. His Tony Blair in The Queen was spot on. Here he nails the callow narcissist Frost, capturing as well the frenetic entrepreneurial energy of this TV creature.
Tricky Dick's profound failures of character poisoned the faith of generations. Because this American president proved to be a bad apple, his successors labor under suspicion. In turn, Nixon must forever pay historical penance for this original sin.
Nixon the historical actor aside, how accurate is the movie to the historical reality? One key scene - Nixon's drunken midnight call to Frost - never happened in reality according to Frank Langella. So that pushes up the circoreality score.
Rest of the review at http://www.wikpik.com/movie_reviews/1565-frostnixon
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