Frost/Nixon - 2008 Plot: Following the resignation of US President Richard Nixon, television talk show host David Frost wants to arrange a series of interviews with him to air on television. Part of the reason Frost thinks the interviews would be compelling to both the public and the television networks is that Nixon never admitted any guilt of or offered any apology for the Watergate scandal which led to his resignation. Nixon, with a few interview offers on the table, ultimately agrees to Frost's proposal partly because of the high $600,000 guaranteed appearance fee, and partly because he wants to take command of such an interview to show the world that he is still presidential so that he can resurrect his political career. Nixon believes he can railroad Frost, who is better known as a pop cultural entertainment styled interviewer than an investigative political interviewer. However, Frost has every intention on these interviews being hard hitting and pointed; in addition to his producer John Birt, Frost hires two investigative reporters known for their previous exposés on Nixon: Bob Zelnick and James Reston Jr. Nixon's chief adviser for the interviews is his current chief of staff, Jack Brennan. Prior to the interviews, ground rules are negotiated, most importantly surrounding Watergate: the total percentage of time Watergate can be discussed and the definition of what constitutes Watergate. As the four interviews progress, each side tries to manipulate the interviews to his best advantage. Behind the scenes, Frost is having difficulty with the rest of his professional life: his regular talk shows are being canceled and he has not reached anywhere near the total $2 million financing for this project. Ultimately, Frost has to finance the project with much money out of his own pocket. It isn't until a chance telephone call that the tides turn on the interviews. Written by Huggo (imdb.com)
Review: *This review contains minor spoilers* I am realizing that I really enjoy watching Hollywood theatrical version of real life events that happened either while I was a young child or before I was born. Growing up in the United States I am familiar with the main premise of Watergate and know that Richard Nixon was the only president ever to resign from office. This film takes place in 1977, just after Nixon had resigned from his second term as President. Again, with this being a subject that I was not all that familiar with I went into it with a wide open mind and eagerness to learn more about this situation. With the mistakes that Nixon had made the country was in a flux and wanted to hear what Nixon had to say of himself. David Frost (Michael Sheen) was the man for the job. The acting in this movie was above average. Sheen depicted the 70's version of Ryan Seacrest wonderfully. Watching his transition from treating this opportunity with the former president as just another business venture to actually investing himself into these interviews and having a goal and a purpose was fantastic. It was very clear to the viewing audience that while Nixon and Frost were having their late night phone call a light bulb turned on for David Frost and Sheen presented this turning point very well. All this talk about the acting and I haven't even touched on the performance of Frank Langella. Langella played Richard Nixon and was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role. From what I know and what I have heard, his depiction of Richard Nixon was spot on. Both Sheen and Langella had a little extra practice in their roles as they both starred in the "stage version" of Peter Morgan's Frost/Nixon.
The movie itself was pretty slow for the first two thirds of its run time, but the way that it got heated in the final third made the wait worth it. Up until this point in the film Richard Nixon had completely been painted as an egotistical criminal. While his opposition was attempting to "give Nixon the trial he never had" we saw Nixon attempting to turn the tables on them and basically benefit from these interviews which were supposed to condemn him. Then came the late night phone call. A political drunk dial between Nixon and Frost which seemingly lit a bit of a fire under the backside of David Frost. Through rigorous research and late night work, Frost was able to turn the tables on the former president in the final taping of the feature length interview. This was the moment in the movie where everything turned and flipped upside down. Not only did Frost unveil to the world that Nixon had made some grievous mistakes, but he unveiled this truth to Richard Nixon himself. Langella's representation of this revelation also flipped my emotions and made me feel bad for the position that the former president had found himself in. This type of jaw dropping moment is what keeps people returning to the theater. To think and realize that this was a true story and that this all really happened has made me very interested in finding tape of the actual interview.
This movie was a little slow in coming together, but once it was all set up and the bomb dropped it was definitely worth the time. I would recommend this movie for a rental from your local Blockbuster but I personally would not go out of my way to purchase a copy for myself. I have rated this film 3 out of 5 stars.
Please, if you are interested I encourage you to participate and share your thoughts. I would love to get some feedback and hear what each of you took from the day's topic. Just fill in the comment box at the end of each blog and let me know what you think! To read more posts and see my entire blog click the Touch 'Em All Productions header at the top of the page!
Review: *This review contains minor spoilers* I am realizing that I really enjoy watching Hollywood theatrical version of real life events that happened either while I was a young child or before I was born. Growing up in the United States I am familiar with the main premise of Watergate and know that Richard Nixon was the only president ever to resign from office. This film takes place in 1977, just after Nixon had resigned from his second term as President. Again, with this being a subject that I was not all that familiar with I went into it with a wide open mind and eagerness to learn more about this situation. With the mistakes that Nixon had made the country was in a flux and wanted to hear what Nixon had to say of himself. David Frost (Michael Sheen) was the man for the job. The acting in this movie was above average. Sheen depicted the 70's version of Ryan Seacrest wonderfully. Watching his transition from treating this opportunity with the former president as just another business venture to actually investing himself into these interviews and having a goal and a purpose was fantastic. It was very clear to the viewing audience that while Nixon and Frost were having their late night phone call a light bulb turned on for David Frost and Sheen presented this turning point very well. All this talk about the acting and I haven't even touched on the performance of Frank Langella. Langella played Richard Nixon and was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role. From what I know and what I have heard, his depiction of Richard Nixon was spot on. Both Sheen and Langella had a little extra practice in their roles as they both starred in the "stage version" of Peter Morgan's Frost/Nixon.
The movie itself was pretty slow for the first two thirds of its run time, but the way that it got heated in the final third made the wait worth it. Up until this point in the film Richard Nixon had completely been painted as an egotistical criminal. While his opposition was attempting to "give Nixon the trial he never had" we saw Nixon attempting to turn the tables on them and basically benefit from these interviews which were supposed to condemn him. Then came the late night phone call. A political drunk dial between Nixon and Frost which seemingly lit a bit of a fire under the backside of David Frost. Through rigorous research and late night work, Frost was able to turn the tables on the former president in the final taping of the feature length interview. This was the moment in the movie where everything turned and flipped upside down. Not only did Frost unveil to the world that Nixon had made some grievous mistakes, but he unveiled this truth to Richard Nixon himself. Langella's representation of this revelation also flipped my emotions and made me feel bad for the position that the former president had found himself in. This type of jaw dropping moment is what keeps people returning to the theater. To think and realize that this was a true story and that this all really happened has made me very interested in finding tape of the actual interview.
This movie was a little slow in coming together, but once it was all set up and the bomb dropped it was definitely worth the time. I would recommend this movie for a rental from your local Blockbuster but I personally would not go out of my way to purchase a copy for myself. I have rated this film 3 out of 5 stars.
Please, if you are interested I encourage you to participate and share your thoughts. I would love to get some feedback and hear what each of you took from the day's topic. Just fill in the comment box at the end of each blog and let me know what you think! To read more posts and see my entire blog click the Touch 'Em All Productions header at the top of the page!
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