Review of Nixon (1995) by Ash J — 18 Sep 2010
Historically dubious biographical epic by Oliver Stone about the life of President Richard Nixon, staged as a Shakespearean tragedy with scenes lifted from "Citizen Kane." Anthony Hopkins is highly mannered in a Nixon impersonation.
Hopkins is effective at showing Nixon's paranoia and insecurities but there is little conveyed on his shrewdness and popularity as a politician. There is more empathy directed towards Nixon than I would've guessed at but Stone uses simplistic pop psychology to explain the downfall of his Presidency.
As in "JFK," Stone includes historical inventions but doesn't differentiate between fact and fiction. The fragmentary nature of the screenplay is so disjointed that it becomes difficult to comprehend the material thrown at us.
Joan Allen is astonishing as Pat Nixon. Written by Steven J. Rivele, Christopher Wilkinson, and Stone. Cinematography by Robert Richardson; overblown music score by John Williams. With James Woods as HR Haldeman; J.
T. Walsh as John Ehrichman; John Diehl as G.Gordon Liddy; Paul Sorvino as Henry Kissinger; Bob Hoskins in an offensive homosexual caricature of J. Edgar Hoover; Powers Boothe as Alexander Haig; Ed Harris as E.
Howard Hunt; E.G. Marshall, David Paymer, David Hyde Pearce, Kevin Dunn, Edward Herrmann, Sam Waterston, Larry Hagman.
This review of Nixon (1995) was written by Ash J on 18 Sep 2010.
Nixon has generally received positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
