Frost/Nixon (Ron Howard, 2008)

[Haggai]

Having seen this today, I pretty much second thiryframesasecond's review from upthread. The actors do a great job, and it's quite compelling overall, albeit with some things that don't quite seem to come together. The drunken phone call is presented as the turning point, possibly because it gives Frost some previously unrecognized insight into Nixon's personality, but the way it plays out it is somewhat disconnected from that. The only real difference from that point on is that Frost is newly motivated to dig into the details, which results in the discovery of a key conversation Nixon had that had gone unnoticed up to that point. So it's not clear, dramatically speaking, how Frost gains any real advantage from the call.

The "interviews" with some of the supporting players is an odd framing device that occasionally adds something, but also tends to distract from what's going on. It's like the whole movie is partly...a documentary made in the year or two after the interviews? Huh? I guess they were going for a Citizen Kane-type effect, or perhaps Reds (which I just re-watched the other night), but it ends up being more like Spinal Tap in a few places.

One thing I really liked was Rebecca Hall looking *very* glamorous and sexy. Also, since someone mentioned the music in the trailer upthread, it isn't like that at all in the film; the trailer prominently features "Fame" and "Baba O'Reilly," but the movie doesn't use any rock music for dramatic purposes.

[Antoine Doinel]

Saw this today and pretty much agree with the other commentators here. Howard's work behind the camera is thoroughly unremarkable, and the film really rests on Langella and Sheen's capable shoulders, and not surprisingly, is the most engaging when they are on screen. Kevin Bacon is also quite good as Nixon's Chief Of Staff. I'm not really sure why Rebecca Hall signed on as her role required little more than looking stunning in a number of backless dresses (not that I'm complaining). The script is solid, the film is entertaining (if slightly too long) and this is exactly the kind of workmanlike, sturdy film the Academy eats up so expect a Best Picture nod for sure, and a deserved nomination for Langella.

[s.j. bagley]

Saw this today and pretty much agree with the other commentators here. Howard's work behind the camera is thoroughly unremarkable, and the film really rests on Langella and Sheen's capable shoulders, and not surprisingly, is the most engaging when they are on screen. Kevin Bacon is also quite good as Nixon's Chief Of Staff. I'm not really sure why Rebecca Hall signed on as her role required little more than looking stunning in a number of backless dresses (not that I'm complaining). The script is solid, the film is entertaining (if slightly too long) and this is exactly the kind of workmanlike, sturdy film the Academy eats up so expect a Best Picture nod for sure, and a deserved nomination for Langella.

i couldn't agree more.
that being said, it still manages to be my favourite ron howard film.
(which says quite a bit more about his other films than it does this one, i'd say.)
still, it's well worth watching for those interested in nixon and his madness.

[domino harvey]

I can't even imagine how this could have been all that interesting on stage, because this dull slog through post-Nixonism is dead in the water on screen for problems beyond presentation. The performances are no big deal, though Bacon has some fun with his lovelorn loyalist, and the dramatic arc is shockingly minuscule. Pedestrian trifles like this are what pass for prestige pictures nowadays?

[jbeall]

Is it a prestige picture? I guess...

To echo other posts, the direction is pretty unremarkable. I haven't seen the play, but the formal tropes just repeat Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Badassssssssssss already did, and did better. (And yes, I know there's no shortage of doc-style movies out there; those two just popped into my head). But this film, whose central drama rests of a one-on-one conversation, doesn't need a great director, just a competent one. I suppose the one moment I thought was really wonderful was the lingering closeup on Nixon's face as he's about to answer Frost's question, and he just stops and thinks--about 18 seconds by my count. Langella is just amazing there--he fully deserves the effusive praise he's gotten for this role--and the scene is mesmerizing. But then Reston comments on the power of the close-up something like a minute later, and the heavy-handedness of it annoyed me.

Otherwise, the film is basic liberal Hollywood wish-fulfillment, quite clearly substituting Nixon's confession for the Bush confession that we're never going to get. I'm not opposed to using past political events to comment on contemporary ones (those who fail to learn from history etc.), but the parallel breaks down when RMN, a figure in many ways straight out of Greek tragedy but who possessed serious intellectual chops, becomes a stand-in for GWB, who epitomized the banality of evil. For that reason, any kind of catharsis this film hopes to effect is wholly disingenuous, even as it explains the film's popularity and multiple Academy award nominations.