Review of The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004) by The Magic M — 30 Apr 2005

[b][font=Verdana][u][color=white][size=4]The Assassination Of Richard Nixon[/size] (2004)[/color][/u][/font][/b].

[color=white][size=2][b][size=2][font=Verdana][size=2]In this semi-fictionalized film based on a true story, Sean Penn is very good as a weary salesman, soon to be wannabe assassin. It is, with all of it's unique qualities, still somewhat of a predictable film. Penn's salesman (a would-be rip-off artist) has had his wife (Naomi Watts) leave him taking their kids with her. He tries to get financial help from a government small business loan that the Nixon administration has recently signed into effect. He wants to start his own business with his only friend (Don Cheadle), thinking this will help impress his wife and make her come back to him.

[/size][size=2]Penn is excellent at playing a pathetic inept person sometimes, and he pulls it off to perfection in this film. I only wish the story gave us more background into all of the fact based characters. It is quite obvious that the salesman doesn't have what it takes to start his own business, lacking what his boss calls "belief" in order to be a good seller. In one scene the boss uses Nixon as an example of a good salesman, Nixon having sold the[/size] [size=2]American public the premise that he would bring home the troops from [/size][/font][/size][size=2][font=Verdana]Viet Nam[/font][/size][font=Verdana][size=2] in two elections.[/size] [/font][/b][/size][/color][font=Verdana].

[color=white][size=2][b]The story takes us with the salesman through a spiraling life going downward and leads to an ugly end. You know Nixon's career ended this way as well, but you also know he wasn't assassinated, so you do the math. I enjoyed the film, but I think it is an esoteric one and if you don't like hearing the incessant voice of Richard Nixon buzzing on a TV set in your head the way it does in Penn's character's, I would suggest staying home. I would say [i]The Penn is mightier than the film.[/i].

Niels Muller is a first time director with this project and I will be interested in seeing what he does next. There is a lot of good work in this interesting but flawed film. [/b][/size][/color][/font].