Review of The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004) by Sean S — 18 Mar 2010

Penn is terryfic in this haunting tale of a man who has had enough of being pushed around by everyone else. Penn does a brilliant job of forcing sympathy from the audience as he slowly paces his aprartment or he desperatly pleads for his loan. Although this is done remarkably by Penn the directing is what intruiges most as it forces the sympathy of a down an out man but then continues to force sympathy as it turns out how mad he really is, this is something only the really talented directors will attempt(Kubrck is a legend at this) and something even few can pull off. The narrative is also interesting and unconventional as it focuses a lot more on why he wants to kill nixon rather than the attempt itself which could be a way that the film is trying to justify what he tried and paint him as an anti hero, showing nixon as the real bad guy. It also challenges the audience to seeing more than just facts but reason as well. Niels Mueller also uses a wide range of editing and camera techniques to keep the film fresh and original, like the repetition of Penn checking his empty mail box every day to represent his obsession and how much he needs thi loan in his life.

Another techniqu used to immerse you into Bickes life is the attention to deatil of the time frame the film is set, the costumes are realistic and the dialogue is intelligant with the soundtrack being very fitting as well.