Review of Frost/Nixon (2008) by Aldy S — 29 Nov 2011

"Frost/Nixon" always looked to be one of the heavy weights when it came to this year's oscar season. It's a historical, non-fiction film about a very controverisal and interesting man. That added together pretty much equals oscar contender, but nothing is ever guaranted. Well the film probably isn't as compelling or engaging as it could've been, but it certainly gives you insight about a man who has been constantly demonized for over 30 years now and one of the most universally hated Presidents in the history of the United States.

Ron Howard is one of the biggest names in Hollywood when it comes to directors. He's made many of the most mainstream, and biggest oscar contenders over the past decade. "Frost/Nixon" will likely be something of a hit. It only cost 25 million to make, likely because there are no big stars, only familiar faces cast in all the roles in the film, and Howard probably didn't take anything close to whatever salary he normally would get in order to bring this film to the screen. He does a pretty good job, but I felt like he didn't move the film along all that well. The slightly modernistic style works for the most part, and there's really no part of the film that was noticeably bad or out of place, but it doensn't quite come completely together. This is a very good film, but it seems like a great film that was held back in some way. There's something missing, and I believe it's possible that a less mainstream director may have added that missing ingredient. Someone like Aronofsky or Fincher might've been able to add that little extra darkness the film might've needed to get that extra push into the realm of true greatness. Howard does a respectable job and he will no doubt receive some nominations for his work this upcoming winter. If he gets left out of the Academy Awards in the Best Director category though, I won't be surprised.

The acting is really where the film seems to be translated very well. Frank Langella's portrayl of Nixon is perhaps one of the best performances of the year and will almost certainly be nominated in the category of Best Actor. He does a great job of really nailing down Nixon's mannerisms as well as bringing many likeable and human aspects out of his character. Make no mistake, "Frost/Nixon" makes the man out to be a pretty likeable guy. He's not shown as some monster, he's just a confused and overly confident man who happened to become our president. If he never was our president he probably would've been a likeable and stereotypical funny old grandpa who had a sharp whit and conservative values. Unfortunately after abusing his position of power he ends up being a very tragic human being who truly seems to feel as though his life has always been a big second rate let down.

Michael Sheen does a good job as British playboy and popular talkshow host, David Frost. He's put everything he has, basically his entire career on the line, just to do the Nixon interviews. Other than that he really isn't as fleshed out as Nixon is, even though most of the film takes place from his point of view. Nixon does most of the talking, and almost anything interesting that is said is said by him. Frost is kind of just the straight man, and because of this I doubt that Sheen will be up for an Oscar. Perhaps some other awards ceremonies will honor him if "Frost/Nixon" becomes an awards favorite as so many films have in the past.

The next most noticeable actor in the film is certainly Sam Rockwell. Rockwell does a great job of playing a very passionate and angry American author who's an expert on Nixon and his deceptive tactics. He absolutely wants to make sure that Nixon admits his wrong doings and appologizes to the public for them. Oliver Platt isn't as noticeable as Rockwell, but the two work together pretty darn well.

Without Langella as Nixon I don't know where this movie would've gone. He's really the centerpiece and the only part of the film that made it likeable at all. He's a better Nixon than even the accomplished Anthony Hopkins, and he looks more like Nixon too.

The script comes right off the page pretty well. I felt as though it could've been paced a little better, but Nixon is fleshed out quite well and the audience is let in on a lot of information that really humanizes the man and doesn't make him out to be a deceiving heartless bad guy. He isn't a bad guy, he's just a guy that should've stuck to being a lawyer and not gone into politics. As his political career firmly comes to a close in the mans mind at the end of the film, it's clear that he also has this realization. Politics was not the career for him, and it's interesting to see how much Nixon felt he had to prove to everyone, which seems to be the only real reason he ever ran for office at all.

As I previously mentioned David Frost is really the straightman of the story, and while he's important to the story he's not nearly as fleshed out as Nixon is. He's not the main attraction. The script is adapted from the stage pretty well, but there were many moments, especially at the beginning where the dialogue felt a little overly theaterlike.

The best parts of the film come in the interviews which is really where Ron Howard got to shine. He did a great job with those scenes because they were basically just taken straight from real life and slapped right onto the page. They are paced well, and they really are the only entertaining parts of the film. I found myself getting bored and maybe even a little tired for short periods of time as I watched "Frost/Nixon". That's really my main complaint. With a character as interesting as Richard M. Nixon, I shouldn't have been bored for a second. It isn't my attention span that's at fault. I love long movies, this film just wasn't compelling enough in some scenes to hold my interest through it's entirity as so many great films do.

"Frost/Nixon" is a very good film, but it is not a great film. Frank Langella deserves a nomination for his brilliant performance as Richard Nixon, but other than that I don't see much to write home about here. Other films like "Slumdog Millionaire" and "Milk" were more interesting, engaging, and compelling through their entire running lengths, and both are actually a little longer than "Frost/Nixon". The frustrating thing is that I know that just a few additions and maybe a few cuts might've made this an absolute classic. This is no "JFK", it's much closer to "Thirteen Days". I feel that it is a solid, well done movie, that will only live on because of it's historically important subject matter, not because of all that and it was a downright masterpiece too.

8/10.