Best of Oscar, Part 4: Frost/Nixon

Frost/Nixon
Written by Peter Morgan, directed by Ron Howard, and starring Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Kevin Bacon and Matthew Macfadyen.

(Mild story spoilers follow.)

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 35 years since Richard Nixon was forced to resign as president of the United States. We’re trained to automatically rate Nixon as one of the, if not the, worst presidents the US has ever had. But for having made such a long and lasting impression on American politics, many details of Richard Nixon’s ‘crookedness’, as well as the aftermath of his resignation, have been lost in the decades that followed. Several generations are simply too young to ever have fully understood the meaning of the Watergate events, which is certainly true for me. Frost/Nixon, based on Peter Morgan’s play, is doing its part to rectify the situation.

The setup of Frost/Nixon is remarkably similar to modern times: a controversial president has left the office with record low approval ratings and allegations of misconduct; through all this said president never wavered in his uncompromising style or attitude (he most certainly never admitted to errors in judgment or flat out wrongdoing); the American public is coming to terms with an unproductive (and potentially unnecessary) war…; and although a new president is in office and life has supposedly moved on, the nation is still reeling with the distinct feeling of unfinished business, of missing resolution.

In 1974, it felt like Richard Nixon got off the hook.

Enter Englishman David Frost, the most unlikely candidate to elicit the long needed apology from Richard Nixon. Frost is hardly a hardball journalist: he started out as a comedian, has a reputation of being somewhat of a playboy, and even though Frost’s talk shows are doing well in Australia and the UK, he has faltered in the US. Looking for a way back into the world’s biggest TV market, Frost tries to arrange an interview with the ex president as soon as he learns of Nixon’s resignation. With 400 million people watching Nixon’s departure from the White House, the interview is bound to be successful.

It takes three years until Nixon agrees to this, his first public interview since his resignation. Nixon is on a quest to rebuild his reputation, and the record-breaking fee of $600,000 which Frost has agreed to pay isn’t hurting. Already in over his head financially (Frost hasn’t even fully secured all financing as the cameras start shooting), and quickly discovering that he is wholly outmatched by the elder statesman, David Frost finds himself in a battle that could either revive or break his career.

From the get-go, Frost/Nixon feels like living history. Shot in pretend documentary style which recounts the series of events leading up to the interviews, as well as the four recording sessions, Frost/Nixon creates a feeling of authenticity that easily draws in the audience. Frank Langella comes alive as Richard Nixon, giving this former president a tangibility and dimensionality that had been missing for somebody like me, who never really experienced the man when he was alive. Michael Sheen, trading his werewolf guise for that of David Frost has almost as much bite. Much of the movie’s tension arises from the confrontation between Nixon and Frost, and both actors perform their roles marvelously. It doesn’t even matter if you know the eventual outcome of these interviews ahead of time. You’ll be entertained regardless.

“Best Picture Nominee” Worthiness: 3/5. I wholeheartedly recommend that you watch Frost/Nixon. It will provide great perspective on America’s state of mind following the Nixon years, and that point of reference is very welcome in 2009. But when it comes to Oscar, I cannot rate Frost/Nixon quite as highly as some of the other contenders. This is a good movie. A great movie, even. But it’s the subject matter that elevates Frost/Nixon to Oscar status. The most compelling parts of the movie, the engaging exchanges between Frost and Nixon, aren’t even original dialog. Neither is the story setup, which even seems to have been a bit “hollywoodized” to allow for one magic bullet/lifesaver moment towards the end of the movie that felt a bit too cheesy for me. Great movie, decent choice for nominee. But maybe not quite Oscar worthy.

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Four movies down, one to go! I’m hoping to post the final installment of this series, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, on Saturday. And I’ll try to throw in a quick recap of this experience and my pick for best movie of the year for good measure. Until then, have fun reading the earlier parts of “Best of Oscar”, or subscribe to the RSS feed to get all the updates:

Read the series introduction
Part 1: The Reader
Part 2: Slumdog Millionaire
Part 3: Milk