Frost/Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon remains one of the most compelling figures in American history. His presidency began in the immediacy of the Vietnam War and concluded in the shadow of the Watergate scandal. Watergate, which has become a basic umbrella term to cover a series of American political scandals involving Nixon, began with a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in Washington and included campaign fraud, illegal wiretapping, and political sabotage on a massive scale. Nixon famously resigned on August 9, 1974, and did not admit to any criminal wrongdoing.

Getting national leaders to admit wrongdoing in any form is often a tricky proposition and many often accept the notions of stubbornness and secrecy as a part of the political job description. Cracking through the shell, then, was often a job faced by hordes of investigative reporters and media types. This often puts the media at odds with politicians, as most have secrets to keep. In the case of Nixon, the man to crack the shell was a British television presentation named David Frost.

Ron Howard’s brilliant Frost/Nixon examines the cracking of that shell. Based upon the play of the same name by Peter Morgan, Howard’s 2008 film takes viewers behind the scenes of the David Frost interviews with Nixon. The interviews took place in 1977 and spanned the course of 12 days, taping for two hours a day for a total of 28 hours and 45 minutes. The recording of the interviews took place in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, a pair of long-time Nixon supporters.

Nixon is played by Frank Langella, who also played the president in the play. David Frost is played by Michael Sheen, also from the play. The film delves into each individual thoroughly, allowing us to see the contrast between the two men and setting up the interviews as altercations of an almost physical nature. There is a sense that the dialogues were rounds in a boxing match and Howard does a good job formulating this approach, giving us “breaks” frequently and admiring the “combatants” ability to regroup.

Frost/Nixon is effective for a number of reasons. For starters, Howard’s direction keeps things moving at an incredible pace. He splices his footage together, building the story on a documentary-style basis with little interview scraps from other characters to set up the ultimate confrontation. We are given face time with Frost’s producer, John Birt (Matthew Macfadyen), and Nixon’s post-presidential chief of staff, Jack Brennan (Kevin Bacon), to help flesh out the background characters in this high drama.

As good as Ron Howard is in the director’s chair, Frost/Nixon is really a motion picture that belongs to its actors. Langella is tremendous and well deserving of an Oscar nomination as the beleaguered, exhausted, and endlessly prideful president. He does not simply perform an impersonation of Nixon, but rather he embodies a new version of the man and grants him new flaws and traits. This is no party caricature; this is a unique, new man. Nixon’s outbursts, his stunning proclivity for shameless interludes, and his mannerisms are there, but Langella creates a Nixon all his own.

Sheen is an excellent counterpart, granting a slice of humility to David Frost without overdoing it. There are slight pauses, glances, and gestures that infuse Sheen’s performance with style and grace. He grants Frost, the master of social events, helplessness in the presence of Nixon and almost develops a kinship working with Langella. The relationship these two great actors are able to craft is extraordinary and provides the true nucleus of this tremendous film.

Frost/Nixon is a political thriller in many ways, but it is also an extraordinary human drama in many other ways. One doesn’t need knowledge of the Nixon presidency, Watergate, or the interviews in order to become methodically engaged in the chess match between these two men. The performances and the direction create a movie that is incessantly enthralling, forceful, and absorbing. It is one of the best of 2008.

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