Review of The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004) by Junaid T — 13 Oct 2007

Samuel Bicke is a pathetic character. The bank refuse him a loan, his wife isnt interested anymore and his children dont want to spend time with him. The "American Dream" is crumbling around him. He blames President Richard Nixon for this, who is called by another character "the worlds greatest salesman". The only way out of this for him is to assassinate the cause of the problems, Nixon.

Sean Penn is superb as Sam Bicke. We sympathise with him as we see each pathetic attempt by him to improve his life. He has to carry the entire film, as the other two main characters, his estranged wife and his best friend, played by Naomi Watts and Don Cheadle respectivly, dont figure much throughout. Debut director Niels Mueller crafts an excellent little film here, with a real 70s sensibility but also with a contempory message. (Twice elected president lying about the need for war to furthur his own agenda). This film is most like the political films made at the time that this one is set, like Taxi Driver and All the presidents men. And if those seem like high standards then thats just an indication of how good this movie is.