”I’m saying that if the President does it that means it’s not illegal.”
Just like Doubt, Frost/Nixon is an adaptation of a well-received stage play and much like W., the film takes a controversial president and breaks him down into a sympathetic figure overwhelmed by the power he fought so hard to gain. Writer Peter Morgan adapted his play for the big screen himself. Frost/Nixon focuses on the behind-the-scenes happenings that went on during the nearly 30 hour filming of an interview between Richard Nixon (Frank Langella) and television personality, David Frost (Michael Sheen).
What transpires is an intellectual battle for supremacy. Once a serious journalist, Frost is now relegated to doing little-seen, fluff pieces. Nixon, still shattered by the Watergate scandal, is looking for a way back into the political circles he had been ostracized from. Two men seeking a career resurrection that only one can achieve. Nixon and his camp see Frost as a pushover and agree to the interviews to the cool sum of $600,000 plus 10% of the profits. Meanwhile, Frost assembles his own team of researchers in order to ask the former president the hard questions. However, when the two finally sit down, Nixon runs circles around the interviewer. Frost has been spread thin by financial issues and the constant rejection by network execs and advertisers. Anytime the man tries to drop a bombshell (the Watergate tapes, Cambodia) on President Nixon, he evades the questions with long-winded, rambling stories that eat up huge chunks of time. It is only during the final interview session (after being drunk dialed by Nixon) that Frost hunkers down in an effort to finally nail Tricky Dick on Watergate and the subsequent cover-up.
Unlike Doubt, Ron Howard manages to expand on the source material into a fully realized cinematic experience and not just a talking heads picture. Howard, not exactly known as a visually stimulating director, faithfully recreates the look and color palette of the 70’s. He fills the frame with Nixon’s hulking, hunched-over body playing into his larger-than-life personality. At the same time, he’s pressed against the edges, uncomfortable in his own skin.
Langella is certainly getting the lion’s share of credit for his portrayal of our 37th president. His performance avoids the pratfalls of mere SNL impersonation. Langella conveys Nixon from raw rage to bittersweet confession (”"You have no idea how fortunate that makes you: liking people and being liked.”) while giving us a glimpse of a sly wit Nixon wasn’t readily known for. Both Langella and co-star Michael Sheen reprised their stage role. Sheen brings the same smug, self-assuredness that he did as Tony Blair in The Deal and The Queen, also written by Morgan. The supporting cast each get their own chance to shine for the brief moments they are on-screen. Of particular note are the always-entertaining Sam Rockwell as James Reston Jr., Frost’s lead researcher (and biggest anti-Nixon proponent); the beautiful Rebecca Hall as Frost’s glamorous girlfriend, Caroline Cushing; and Kevin Bacon as the straight-laced ex-Marine who acts as Nixon’s right-hand man and confidant. Not faring so well is Toby Jones, a fine actor who can’t seem to hit the right notes in recent bio-pics. He made a great Truman Capote in Infamous, but his Karl Rove in W. was lacking and his Swifty Lazar (the high-powered talent agent) here is hampered by an unconvincing accent.
Rating: *** 1/2
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