Movie Review: Frost/Nixon (2008)

Safe and satisfying but not extraordinary

The best way I can think to describe Frost/Nixon is to say it is on the same level as a courtroom drama with a climax equivalent to a teenage "cramming for the SAT" movie. As the story began to unfold I couldn't help but wonder if there wasn't a better way for director Ron Howard to tell it. I enjoyed watching it, but the ups and downs were so obviously scripted there wasn't any kind of "surprise around the corner" moment. What you see in the trailer is what you get, and if you have seen the trailer the moment Nixon says, "I'm saying if the President does it it's not illegal," feels so cliché and hammy it has no real impact. To top it off, it feels as if this is a film to show British talk show host David Frost as some kind of great journalist when in fact he is a man that got lucky at the very last moment… at least that is how it plays out in this piece of historical fiction that never really seems all that accurate.

Frost/Nixon tells the story of the famous interview between David Frost (Michael Sheen) and former president Richard Nixon (Frank Langella) following his resignation. Frost saw it as an opportunity for huge ratings as the American public was still looking for an apology from the disgraced politician and Nixon's camp saw it as an opportunity to take advantage of a lowly talk show host and perhaps reinvigorate his public persona. As it turns out the interview offers very little in terms of sparks as the majority of the action is behind-the-scenes. However, so much emphasis is placed on the interview itself that the ultimate climax of the feature feels as if Frost is just another college student in a movie where he doesn't decide to do his homework until the night before. Seen cramming, underlining and highlighting he manages to get his work done, score the "A" and get a movie made about his triumph. That is if you believe there is any real triumph here.

The interview is broken up into five parts, which serves the story written by Peter Morgan and based on his play of the same name, quite well. It gives opportunity for those necessary movie moments in between the real story and time for folks such as Sam Rockwell as James Reston, Jr., Oliver Platt as Bob Zelnick and especially Kevin Bacon as Jack Brennan to shine. Rockwell and Platt serve as Frost's research team or more appropriately the guys with the brains that Frost listens to at the last minute. They serve their part, but you pretty much know exactly what they are going to do and say as the story goes along. Bacon, on the other hand, is a far more stoic character who stands up for Nixon and serves as his gatekeeper and something of a protector. There is a certain affection he has for Nixon and it is very well met.

Of course a lot of chatter will center on Langella's portrayal of the former President, and it is a good performance. However, early on it is a bit odd and I found myself debating whether I felt it was an impression, a caricature or a bonafide performance. I am still not convinced it is any one of those more than the other, but as the film moves along you become accustomed to the deep voice and Langella's delivery. He certainly made the performance his own, but I am not ready to gush all over him.

Folks familiar with Ron Howard and his kind of films won't be surprised by this one at all. It has that family friendly vibe Howard brings to the majority of his films, although one scene in particular involving a late night phone call from Nixon to Frost's hotel suite will certainly go down as the film's high point and Langella's signature moment. It's a great scene and it serves as the film's darkest and most intriguing moment, without it this film would have lacked any kind of real guts.

For the most part Frost/Nixon is a safe and rather expected Ron Howard film. It has its "big reveal" and Frost gets his man at the end, but it feels all too "after school" once it hits its climactic moment to give it any real kind of praise. It’s an above average film, which so many of Howard's pictures are, but it tells its story in such a way that while you are enjoying what you are watching you aren't really getting a whole lot out of it. In the production notes screenwriter Peter Morgan says he interviewed many people and got many different versions of the same story so he felt he could take certain dramatic liberties with the story. I have no problem with this, but they are certainly noticeable throughout.