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FROST / NIXON - MOVIE REVIEW

FROST / NIXON – (English,2008)

Director : Ron Howard

Cast : Frank Langella , Michael Sheen , Kevin Bacon , Sam Rockwell

Frost / Nixon is Director Ron Howard's portrayal of the aftermath of the Watergate Scandal , which rocked America in the 70's . President Richard Nixon was forced to resign following a series of allegations against him.

The film focuses on a series of interviews , by David Frost (Michael Sheen) , a British TV presenter , with Richard Nixon ( Frank Langella) . The President had never apologized even after his resignation , for his misdeeds. Now Frost is on a mission... to force an apology from America's first ever President to resign from Office.

The initial stages of the movie deal with the Watergate Scandal itself , and slowly moves on to the setting up of the Interviews. It is only towards the latter stages of the film that we actually get to see these Interviews between Frost and Nixon.

A lot of time has been spent in establishing the characters. We realize that Frost is a maverick TV host , with a flair for impeccable timing. He is a very well established name in the Industry , and is always on the lookout for better things. We also get to know about the Watergate Scandal in parallel , and one fine day Frost decides to grill Nixon.

Howard uses a lot of archival footage , across the movie , probably to give the audience a feel of what really transpired during Watergate. The actual political controversy is underplayed , and the movie focuses more on the interviews.

Even though the movie is 2 hours long , and is what some people call a “talking film” , sans any action or comedy , it keeps you gripped. Frost tries to assemble a team to help him and is desperate for funding. After all that he has gone through to setup the interview , the audience is always in a state of suspense .

Shot in an almost documentary manner , with the supporting cast members expressing their views about the Interviews , at regular intervals, this is a rather unique method of storytelling. And juxtaposed with the Archival footage especially in the initial sequences , the viewer can be pardoned for thinking he has stepped into a documentary movie. But the actual action is really worth the wait.

Acting is the strongest point of the film. Michael Sheen as the flamboyant presenter Frost is a treat to watch. His attitude and determination to force an apology from Nixon can be contagious. We also have excellent performances from the support cast , like Sam Rockwell's portrayal of James Reston , whose sole agenda is to defame Nixon as much as possible. Kevin Bacon is as reliable as ever playing the role of Jack Brennan , who is Nixon's Man Friday.

However the best aspect of the movie has to be Frank Langella. His brilliant portrayal of Richard Nixon , the man who has lost everything and is still determined not to admit his failures , is a class act. Langella never really resorts to theatrics and blends into the character of Nixon impeccably. There is a close up frame of Langella towards the end , which will haunt movie-goers for sometime , not really for the role of Nixon , but for the sheer caliber of acting.

The movie has a lot of bright moments , like the mind-games which both camps play before the Interviews and also Frost's determination to find sponsors for the Interview. But the piece de resistance has to be the final Interviews , which are truly worth every minute which the Director spends liberally in establishing the characters and their purpose .

The movie definitely reminded me of a boxing duel. The mind games played by both Frost and Nixon , the attempts at modifying the contract clauses are all synonymous with any modern day big boxing duels. And the Final Interviews are definitely synonymous with a boxing match , with both sides trying to hit where it hurts the most. But eventually there is only one victor.. and your guess is as good as mine...

The movie is definitely yet another masterpiece from the Director who gave us that absolute gem of a movie “A Beautiful Mind”. Ron Howard has done it yet again.

I will go with 4.5 out of 5 for this excellent movie. This movie will surely not go down well with the “American Pie” and “Fast and Furious” loving movie-goers. But for those interested in serious cinema , this is a must watch.

VERDICT : 4.5 / 5 (Uber)