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Frost/Nixon [Theatrical Release]

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In March of 1977, British television personality David Frost interviewed former President of the United States Richard Nixon in a series of four ninety-minute installments. On the basis of the film that recreates these interviews, Ron Howard's "Frost/Nixon," I wish I had been around to see them when they originally aired. Partly, it has to do with the fact that they revealed a great deal about Nixon, and I'm not merely referring to historical facts; his on-camera mannerisms spoke volumes about him, from his carefully worded, intentionally long-winded answers to his damp upper lip and the handkerchief he used to blot it with. Screenwriter Peter Morgan, who adapted his own stage play, could have easily written Nixon as a tiresome cliché, a loathsome fallen hero who would live out his life in disgrace. Instead, he opted to reveal the humanity behind the presidency--he a deeply insecure man, self-destructive and paranoid, a non-people person that somehow got into a very gregarious position.

Frank Langella, reprising his stage role, gives one of the year's best performances as Nixon. He captures not only the man's distinctive voice, but also his sly sense of humor, one that seemed less like a personality quirk and more like a defense mechanism. It's quite possible it was the last line of communication; it's no secret that the real Nixon hated the press, and for all intents and purposes, the press hated him back, especially after a string of political errors--not the least of which was the Watergate scandal--led to his 1974 resignation. There's a certain dignity to the way the film handles these aspects of Nixon's life, although it may have been nothing more than an act of desperation on his part. Despite his troubled past and stormy presidency, he clung to the hope that he would somehow secure his legacy. It's no wonder, then, that he accepted Frost's offer for a series of interviews (which would come along with a check for $600,000 and a share of the interview's profits).

Here enters Frost (Michael Sheen, also reprising his stage role), who found moderate success in England, Australia, and the United States as a broadcaster of sorts. He's initially portrayed as a deeply charismatic playboy--sociable, laidback, and witty, a man that, according to Morgan, would consider a cocktail party his natural habitat. His love of women is more or less pushed aside in favor of his one relationship with Caroline Cushing (Rebecca Hall), who--in the film, at least--falls for Frost as he flies to Los Angeles for the Nixon interviews. But as the film progresses, he gradually reveals himself as a man desperate to be a part of the journalistic in-crowd, especially in America, where success is "unlike success anywhere else." While bothered by Nixon's denial of the Watergate cover-up, the truth is that Frost was also hoping for the interviews to revive his career.

And that's the genius of this movie: It shows how both men are more alike than they are different. They're moral opponents, yet they clamor to stay in the spotlight, and they rely heavily on teams to see them through the momentous debates. Frost and his producer, John Birt (Matthew Macfadyen), join ranks with executive producer Bob Zelnick (Oliver Platt) and writer James Reston, Jr. (Sam Rockwell), both serving as researchers. Both men have reputations on the line, which is problematic given Frost's financial problems, the money for the interviews coming out of his own pocket. It doesn't help that Reston is hell bent on cornering Nixon and making him look like a fool. As Nixon approaches the interview site--a suburban home--Reston glances out the window and sees him in person for the first time: "He's taller than I imagined," he says to Zelnick. "Tanned. The least he can do is look ravaged."

Nixon's team is led by Lieutenant Colonel Jack Brennan (Kevin Bacon), who also distrusts the media. He sees Frost not as an interviewer, but as a dangerous intruder who's intellectually beneath him. He goes through the entire film fiercely protective of Nixon, going so far as to call Frost and threaten to ruin him should he decide to ask questions that shouldn't be asked.

The interview scenes are works of art in and of themselves, masterfully combining verbatim dialogue with strategic camerawork. So much could have gone wrong, here; Howard could have filmed bland debate scenes, with generic wide shots of two people sitting across from each other. Thankfully, he uses clever close-ups and the natural pacing of the interviews to build tension. The first interview is rough on Frost, who barely had time to pose questions between Nixon's drawn-out musings. And this is despite the inflammatory nature of the first question, "Why didn't you burn the tapes?" But the suspense steadily grows, and it doesn't pause between interviews. Case in point: The climactic phone call between Nixon and Frost the night before the final interview. To describe the scene or quote lines of dialogue would do you a great disservice; let's just say that it's the perfect precursor to the next scene, when Frost takes off his journalistic gloves and lets Nixon have it.

I find it amazing that thriller-like elements are utilized so successfully in a film that's essentially a character study. Were it nothing more than a political commentary, "Frost/Nixon" would be tragically uninspired, even with the casting of wonderful actors like Langella and Sheen. This movie consistently surprised me, first with its ability to humanize the main characters, then with Morgan's willingness to blend history with drama, then with his thought-provoking dialogue, then with Howard's attention to the smallest details, like hand gestures and the placement of each character in a shot. The most surprising thing of all was the way Nixon regarded his adversary with a restrained sense of respect and admiration, someone worthy of a good debate. This is one of the year's best films.

What is it about the 37th president of the United States, Richard Milhous Nixon that, on the one hand, repels people so much, and yet, on the other hand, also keeps them coming back for more? The answer, as has been documented endlessly ever since his fall from grace in 1974, is that he was an enormously complex and tortured figure. And in the spring of 1977, more of that complex and tortured figure came out in a four-part series of 90-minute interviews Nixon did from his San Clemente compound with the relatively untested David Frost. Those interviews formed the basis for Peter Morgan's play "Frost/Nixon"; and thanks to the direction of Ron Howard (BACKDRAFT; APOLLO 13), that play has come to life on the big screen in a big way.

Reprising the roles they had created on stage, Michael Sheen and Frank Langella are well matched as, respectively, British talk show personality David Frost and the disgraced 37th president of the United States. For cinematic purposes, Morgan's screenplay expands his play to include the behind-the-scenes intrigue leading up to the interviews that Frost conducted with Nixon from the ex-president's enclave in San Clemente during March and April 1977. Because Frost, at that time, was basically seen as the British equivalent of Johnny Carson, not as a trans-Atlantic Ed Murrow or Walter Cronkite, it was thought by Nixon and his handlers that he would be an easy mark. And as both the play and this subsequent film show, Frost did throw some softball questions at Nixon to loosen him up. But urged on by his American handlers, including noted Nixon foe James Reston (Sam Rockwell) and political historian Bob Zelnick (Oliver Platt), Frost cut right to the chase and got Nixon to be just a little bit more candid than the law (which Nixon was known to have broken during his presidency on more than a few occasions) would allow. Under what amounted to cross-examination regarding the motivations and the legalities of Watergate, Nixon was heard to exclaim to Frost: "If the president does something, then it's not illegal." As translated from the stage onto the screen, this battle royale between a future media giant and a fallen president is riveting; and given the fact that these interviews drew some of the highest ratings ever for any face-to-face interview ever broadcast for television, it never gets boring.

Bringing any kind of stage play, even a Tony Award winner like "Frost/Nixon" to the big screen can pose a lot of problems. If not done right, it can become very tedious to watch, to the point where audiences notice all too soon that it is essentially what it was originally--a stage play. But FROST/NIXON, as a film, takes the same approach that Sidney Lumet took in 1957 with adapting Reginald Rose's play "Twelve Angry Men" so superbly to the big screen: the idea of making the material interesting by letting the camera move and letting the actors do their thing. The fact that both Sheen and Langella do very believable jobs at recreating their stage roles says a lot about how they, Howard, and Morgan approached this enterprise--with great care, and with a penchant for high drama (satirical jabs at 1970s fashions aside).

This is by far one of the best films of 2008, and comes highly recommended.

Driven by an electrifying performance from Frank Langella as the controversial thirty-seventh President, Frost/Nixon plays out like a tense cat and mouse thriller - quite a feat for a film whose premise is essentially a series of interviews. Based on Peter Morgan's play and the true story of a talk show host who took on a political powerhouse, Ron Howard's latest never backs down in its intense presentation of the struggle of a few men to bring closure to one of the most notorious conspiracies of all time.

When witty British talk show host David Frost (Michael Sheen) plots his return to American television credibility with an in-depth four part interview with disgraced President Nixon (Frank Langella), he quickly finds he's in over his head. As the major studios turn down his offer, his investors rapidly withdraw funding, and his colleagues lose faith in their leader, Frost sees his chance at success steadily faltering. With his political nemesis taunting him in mind games and verbal trickery, Frost must engage in a deceptive no-holds-barred game of wits where only one can walk away victorious.

Following in the footsteps of the original stage play's sensational performances, both Sheen and Langella feed off each other's competitive energy to create a back-and-forth verbal jousting match in an attempt to dethrone the other's position of confidence. But their strong contributions are not alone as a top-notch supporting cast brilliantly succeeds in filling out the story behind the scenes. Most notable are Frost's collaborators, played with fiery determination by Oliver Platt, Sam Rockwell, and Geoffrey Gould. Toby Jones and Kevin Bacon also offer fine performances as aides in Nixon's camp and the beautiful Rebecca Hall handles her role with ease.

Frost/Nixon makes use of a device remembered from such films as Warren Beatty's Reds, in which key associates of the subject matter will recount hindsight about the events that are unfolding on screen (in this case they are the same actors in the film, where as in Reds they were real people). It is a form of organization and narration, but in Frost/Nixon it is relatively unnecessary. The use of this for storytelling purposes causes the film to have a pseudo-documentary feel, although fortunately the screenplay is so compelling that as the movie progresses it could even be interpreted as a white-knuckle political thriller.

Frost/Nixon examines the tension between the American people and their outrage over criminal Presidential acts, shown through the cross-examination of Richard Nixon by talk show host David Frost. A kind of underdog story (the sort Ron Howard often tackles) this political boxing match is the tightly scripted drama that Oliver Stone's W. wishes it could have been. Filled with memorable performances from a highly talented cast, Frost/Nixon never falters in submersing its audience in the intriguing battles waged for closure.

- The Massie Twins

There is a abundance of riches during Oscar Season even in theatres that only a few months ago were showing "Beverly Hills Chihuahua".

In the summer we get blockbusters and teen-aged sex comedies, but in the New Year we get the films with a modicum of intelligence. Frost/Nixon is such a film. We should start by agreeing that Ron Howard knows how to make a movie. The Mrs. and I were discussing on the ride home how much Mr. Howard has in common with Clint Eastwood (when on the surface they may seem dissimilar.) Both were famous as actors for decades before turning to directing, and now they are both about as good as directors can be. Frost/Nixon is a glowing addition to a resume that already includes Apollo 13 and A Brilliant Mind among others.

The prologue sets up the historical framework. Nixon has just resigned in the scandal surrounding Watergate. (For those too young to remember, shady characters hired by the Republican Committee to Re-Elect President Nixon were caught breaking into Democratic National Committee headquarters to place bugs. The subsequent investigation tracing the burglars to the White House essentially toppled the Nixon administration and is told well in "All the President's Men" - both the book by Bernstein and Woodward and the film featuring Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford as B&W.)

But I digress. Newly inaugurated President Gerald Ford gives Nixon a full and complete pardon, trying to get the nation past Watergate, but enraging everyone who wanted to see Nixon publicly brought to trial and humiliated. (I couldn't help but notice the parallel between Nixon and the public outrage around Vietnam and the recent public dissatisfaction with departing President Bush and the Global War on Terror.)

I digressed again, didn't I? Sorry. As our film opens Richard Nixon is the most infamous figure in the world. David Frost is an ambitious British television personality. He has a show in Australia and another in Britain, but his American show has been canceled and he longs for that special kind of acclaim that only comes with American success. (Cue "New York, New York": "If I can make it THERE, I'll make it ANYWHERE....!)

I'm running a special on digression today: Nixon retreats to San Clemente, California. Frost approaches a few TV colleagues with the idea of the first and exclusive interview of Nixon after being the first President to resign in office.

I read that Frank Langella and Michael Sheen reprised their stage roles as Nixon and Frost in Peter Morgan's play. Oliver Platt, Sam Rockwell and Matthew Macfadyen are exceptional as the trio advising Frost through the preparations, research and interviews. Kevin Bacon breaks out some of his best work as Jack Brennan, Nixon advisor, handler and sycophant.

Drama escalates from numerous sources: Frost is not thought of as a journalist, and his career seems to be on the down slope. There is much difficulty getting investors and networks interested in the project. Frost and his team risk their entire professional reputations and jobs on success. It seems a given on both sides that "Tricky Dick" Nixon is way over Frost's head intellectually and Rockwell's James Reston, Jr. is nearly desperate that Nixon be nailed publicly since Ford's pardon guarantees Nixon will never go on trial. Nixon is also driven by a desire to try to reclaim enough self-esteem to be able to move back east and keep a toe in the political scheme.

There is no action a la Apollo 13, but the tension rackets up similarly until we breathlessly reach the final act. Langella's nomination for the Best Actor Academy Award is well-deserved, and the remainder of the cast is perfectly chosen as well.

Ron Howard's "Frost/ Nixon" is an account of the televised interviews that David Frost, the British talk show host, conducted with the disgraced former President of the United States in the summer of 1977. Howard follows the negotiations and jockeying for position by each side before an agreement was reached to go forward with the program. Nixon was represented by the legendary agent, Swifty Lazar, who held out for the best deal that he could get. Both Frost and Nixon had a great deal to lose. Frost's entire reputation was on the line. Would he prove to be a lightweight, someone easily manipulated by a wily political veteran? Would Nixon stonewall or would he allow the cracks to show, revealing the person underneath the mask?

Using Peter Morgan's screenplay, Howard does a creditable job of recreating the excitement that accompanied this unprecedented television event. Frost and Nixon each had his team of avid supporters. Kevin Bacon plays Jack Brennan, Nixon's former military aide and champion, with steely-eyed determination. Sam Rockwell is the highly strung James Reston, Jr., who despises Nixon and wants Frost to go for the jugular. Reston will not be satisfied with anything less than an admission of guilt by the former Commander-in-Chief.

Frank Langella steals the movie, hands down, with his outstanding and touching portrayal of a flawed and insecure man whose accomplishments were undermined by his penchant for combativeness and self-destructiveness. Langella shows Nixon in a variety of moods: drunk and self-pitying, fierce and aggressive, and finally, resigned and introspective. Unfortunately, Michael Sheen fails to capture David Frost's keen intelligence. Too much emphasis is placed on Frost's penchant for squiring gorgeous women around, reducing this Cambridge graduate to little more than a shallow television personality with a bright idea. Only when Frost realizes that Nixon has the upper hand does he decide to buckle down and nail Nixon with a series of hard-hitting questions.

Howard may be trying to convey a broader message about the ways in which the "imperial presidency" clashes with its natural adversaries, the insatiable reporters who will do anything to get at the truth. The film drags at times and breaks little new ground in telling a story that many of us remember quite well. The reason to see "Frost/Nixon" is to enjoy Langella's nuanced depiction of a complex individual that few people ever completely understood.

Entertainment, it is; history, it's not. David Frost, if he doesn't hate Michael Sheen's amusing parody of himself, should. Sheen's Frost is a young man in love with the excitement and high life of being a television celebrity, as eager and quick as a chipmunk and as shallow as a plate. The portrayal of Richard Nixon, however, is misleading. For the purposes of a cathartic audience conclusion, Ron Howard (the director), Peter Morgan (the playwright) and Frank Langella (the actor, in an amazing performance), lead us up to an emotional climax which is played for something that looks like Shakespearean tragedy...a great man, torn by internal conflicts, finally brought down (on television yet) by the recognition of his own deep flaws. Well, come on. This certainly makes a surprisingly effective movie, but Richard Nixon is a more suitable study for students of morbid psychology and for those who appreciate the hypocrisy of self-serving politicians. Nixon was no Greek protagonist, just a hard-working, deeply insecure, ferociously ambitious man who was willing to do whatever was needed to defeat those he thought of as his enemies and to prove to the world he was a worthy man. This is the mediocrity of loveless ambition matched with lots of Scotch, not the tragedy of self-inflicted wounds in a noble cause.

Howard and Morgan allow one of those political non-apologies to pass as revelation. "I let down the American people," not "I created the climate that led to the crime of a burglary, and then I initiated and took part in the cover-up...and I was wrong." As much to the point as anything, Howard and Morgan give us such an old-fox portrayal of slyness and one-upmanship, which confounds Frost's young puppy, that most of us probably wind up rooting for Nixon. All this works dramatically, of course, when the puppy finally grows some teeth...but then we're merely left with that masterful non-apology and a moment of supremely effective acting by Frank Langella. The only part of Frost/Nixon that brings into focus the real-life ruthless danger of a man like Nixon in the presidency is the moment when Frost teases out of Nixon the ex-president's belief that whatever a president does is always legal because it is the president who does it. We know (and should be scared to death) that there are political lawyers and ambitious political hacks who agree. That moment, for anyone who values the Constitution and those strangely effective concepts of the separation of power and the rule of law, was, in my view, passed over too lightly.

Frost/Nixon is a fascinating and enjoyable bit of movie entertainment based on a fascinating and enjoyable stage play. It's expecting too much to think it would be more than that.

For those who might be interested in another portrayal of Nixon, this time alone in his study, deep in Scotch and self-pity, talking into a recorder while he justifies his life, watch Robert Altman's, Donald Freed's and Arnold Stone's Secret Honor - Criterion Collection. Philip Baker Hall as Nixon is mesmerizing.

We made it a point to see the Broadway staging of "Frost/Nixon" during the first month of its run there. We didn't want to miss the chance of seeing the powerhouse combination of Frank Langella and Michael Sheen, two preeminent stage actors. They did not disappoint. It's a remarkable play with two, evenly matched performances. Yes, there are other small roles. But for all intents and purposes, it's a two-actor play.

It seemed an unconventional choice to award the film rights to Ron Howard and Brian Grazer's Imagine Entertainment. But they've done it right. The story feels fleshed out and 'colorized' on the screen. The play's peripheral players have been given more meaty roles - Oliver Platt, Sam Rockwell, Matthew Macfadyen (see Death at a Funeral!), the always underrated Keven Bacon and lovely Rebecca Hall all do a fantastic job. Toby Jones is a scene-stealer as Swifty Lazar (and his spitting image). And it's always a treat to see how Ronnie Howard is going to use brother Clint. [There he is behind the camera giving the "5-4-3-2-1" countdowns.]

The interviews themselves (four ninety-minute sessions) are staged by Howard as akin to a boxing match, replete with corner men. When Sheen as Frost retreats to the 'green room' at the break, it feels like Macfadyen, Platt and Rockwell are fixing cuts, squirting water bottles, and telling 'Frost' to stick the jab more. Likewise, in Nixon's corner we have Bacon's character in essence tell his 'fighter' to keep doing what he's doing, stay out of clenches, and move around the ring. The drama is palpable.

The movie also does a good job showing you another side of the two protagonists. We see Frost's desperate, clawing and ultimately successful entrepreneurial spirit at work in getting this thing done. That the event even happened in based purely on this one man's vision and sheer will. He was only 37 when he hatched and sold this idea. Good show, Mr. Frost.

As far an Nixon is concerned, it's Mr. Langella's triumph that he gets to the complexity of the man. He shows some of the sly humor that Nixon was known for as well as his infamous fulminating paranoia. His performance in the scene where he makes a, shall we say, unscripted phone to Frost late at night is awe-inspiring. What an actor. [And what a script by Peter Morgan!]

Although "Frost/Nixon," the new movie from director Ron Howard, is presaged on Richard Nixon, the United States president who resigned from office in disgrace, and his series of interviews in 1977 with the British television talk show host David Frost, it is more about people working to overcome the odds and obstacles they face in order to prevail when most other people expected otherwise. In other words, it basically follows the typical Ron Howard formula, like "Apollo 13" and "Cinderella Man."

This is not to diminish the premise of the film in any way, as it remains an intriguing one, nonetheless, despite the foregone conclusions of those who are familiar with Howard's other work. The second major political docudrama set in the 1970s to premiere in US theaters in about as many weeks (after "Milk") "Frost/Nixon" has been given the visual appearance of a somewhat a downbeat documentary, with its frequently muted colors and dim lighting, by cinematographer Salvatore Totino, as well as a light, often comical, though not always appropriate, feel by writer Peter Morgan. The various key players from both sides--except the two in the title roles--each appear in their own little "interviews" talking about their recollections concerning the main topic at hand and, in so doing, providing a narrative context of sorts (a device loosely similar to that employed by "Milk").

Nixon is played by the talented veteran actor Frank Langella who reprises the same role he inhabited in the Broadway stage version of this story, which was also written by Morgan. Langella is no stranger to portraying powerful, influential men in film. A few years ago he was the famous boss of CBS, William Paley in "Good Night, and Good Luck"; even his turn as in a very different role, Perry White, the head of the Daily Planet and boss of Clark Kent in "Superman Returns," was memorable for his forceful, though too-brief, presence. My only issue with Langella as Nixon is that, although he bears a vague resemblance to the man, he does not look quite close enough like Nixon, who had more pronounced jaw lines, sharper eyes, and a hairline that had receded farther from the temples and forehead. Sometimes it is just distracting enough to take us out of the stories being told. That said, the appearance of Nixon in this movie or any like it would perhaps be subject to closer scrutiny, given the ex-president's unique and famous looks and personality. It could be that almost no actor would be able to resemble Nixon quite closely enough.

That little quip aside, Nixon consistently remains the center of attention when he's in a scene, partly because he's Nixon and we want to hear every word he says in the interviews in his defense of his own presidency and see every tick (even by way of a re-creation), but also because Langella convincingly infuses him with the slick cunning he was known for in real life, not to mention more than enough confidence, ego and a touch of arrogance. When certain of Nixon's behavior and conversations are brought to light, the actor does an effective job at showing a man who seemed to believe his own lies, become unraveled when his systemic denial becomes untenable in light of the proof unexpectedly raised by Frost in his interviews and he realizes his lies, ultimately, are fooling only himself.

The picture is at its most riveting when it shows the destruction of such a man during the interviews by Frost, who was widely considered unqualified for the task of doing just that. Nixon, who held the most prominent and powerful job in the world, who finally forced to admit to himself, through Frost's interviews, that much of his presidency, and himself, is a sham, that his legacy will reflect as such for all future generations in the US, and that he will have to live with it for the rest of his life. That is, by far, the most interesting part of the movie.

Yet, only a relatively small portion, the last half-hour of a feature with a running time four times that length, is devoted to it. The remainder concerns itself, essentially, with David Frost's underestimation of his subject and his failings as a serious journalist. Frost, incarnated by Michael Sheen (also reprising his Broadway stage role), is a talk show playboy who is very nearly the definition of carefree and flamboyant. But he is also ambitious and, ultimately, determined. This is a man who seeks a seven-part television interview with Richard Nixon, despite not having what most journalists and broadcasters would consider the right credentials, and attains it. That, however, is only the start of the battle toward realizing his goal, as he must find financing to actually produce the series of episodes, financing that remains elusive even during the actual taping. Then, there's the small matter that Frost has no clue how to handle an interviewee as shrewd and manipulative as "Tricky Dick" Nixon, who is an expert at twisting critical questions to his advantage and dominating a conversation by rambling on about the extensive small details in his considerably large memory.

Frost and his colleagues are conducting the interviews primarily in a bold effort to coax an admission of guilt from the president, which is what the American people desperately long for, according to John Birt (Matthew Macfadyen), a passionate producer of the interviews. However, the first interview session is a crushing defeat for them and an easy--and utterly expected--win for Nixon and his advisers. In fact, the next few sessions are only marginally better, in part due to Nixon's expertise at handling the press, but also to Frost's carefree attitude, smugness and his own sense of invincibility. He remains popular in his native England and in Australia so shares little of his producers' concerns about the interviews. In fact, in his group, he does the least to prepare for the sessions, preferring to devote most of his time to the opening of a fluff movie he executive-produced and his attractive yet sincere new girlfriend Caroline Cushing (Rebecca Hall), who he only recently met aboard the flight to the US. So, Nixon actually comes off in an interview as saintly? Don't worry, next time we'll get him. Such is, essentially, the extent of his view on the issue.

It does not become clear to him until well into the series--and the film--that the success of the interviews, or the lack thereof, would directly influence his own future on television and those of his partners. In fact, they would be the single largest determining factor. If they fail, he would very well be ruined. Not until this becomes clear does he seem to truly grasp that this endeavor of his is not merely some game of conversation with a defunct president, but a war that only one of them will win, and one he simply cannot lose.

And it is at this point--when Frost asks, "What have I done?"--that the film stops being just a breezy recollection of the determination and nearly quaint foibles of a wanna-be journalist, peppered with occasional glimpses of a calculating man isolated and bored after his fall from grace, and transforms itself into something with more substance. One wishes this tension between the two camps and the fact that both are gambling with something of profound importance to them, would have been established about forty-five minutes earlier, seeing that it is unquestionably the beating heart of the entire picture.

Instead, we see a series of comparatively uninspired portrayals of all the interviews, seemingly studied nearly point-by-point from the actual interviews. A quicker summary of the more unsuccessful (in the opinion of Frost's team) sessions would have been better, if not cutting them from the feature altogether.

But, regardless of the dramatic timing and Howard's predictably happy ending (common throughout Hollywood, of course--no wonder he's so popular there) the final scenes remain engaging and memorable. Fortunately, this time around, Howard has tamped down the sentimentality factors that conspire to make such endings sickly-sweet.

In short, "Frost/Nixon" is an interesting-enough take on the interviews in an era of Americans' disenchantment with the office of their president. However, the defining film about that political time and place remains Alan J. Pakula's "All the President's Men," with Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford. The 1976 film covers, more satisfactorily, many of the same themes, including journalistic ambition, the search for the truth, and the consequences when it is finally found, themes "Frost/Nixon," by comparison, mostly skims. Anyone who has an interest in the cover-up of Watergate and sees the new picture should definitely also take a look at the earlier movie. "Frost/Nixon" could almost be considered a follow-up to that landmark film.

FROST/NIXON is an admirable and very enjoyable film. It can amuse, it can stir the intellect a bit, and it can cause one to think back on that bygone Watergate era.

It's one of those "historical" films where you know much of what you're seeing is invented...but you don't know what, exactly. That can be frustrating for many movie-goers. Did David Frost REALLY have all those troubles leading up to the interview? Did Nixon REALLY use those strategies? Did the Kevin Bacon character REALLY work for Nixon? Etc., etc., etc.

The film (based on a play of the same name) tells of the events leading up to the very famous, multi-day interview between disgraced former US president Richard Nixon and until then little known celebrity interviewer and talk-show host David Frost. Frost, a Brit who once had a little taste of success in America, yearns to make it big there again...but his fortunes are slipping a bit already. He takes a huge gamble (basically his entire net worth) to land a lengthy, in-depth interview with Nixon...a man who left wounds on America that were still fresh and open at the time.

Nixon, in the meantime, clearly wants to make a buck...but he also yearns to not only resurrect his image, but apparently actually dreams of returning to public life in a large capacity. He sees his chance to take advantage of this eager, inexperienced interviewer and polish his image.

What's fun about the film is that Michael Sheen (as Frost) and Frank Langella (as Nixon) dive into their roles with incredible fervor. They played these parts on Broadway, and I'd guess each of them saw a great chance to permanently seal their ties to this play. They act with great zest, but never get to the point of going too far...as we sometimes see when plays go to film (a la DOUBT). Poor Sheen, who also was so great as Tony Blair in THE QUEEN, once again is upstaged by a juicier part...but make no mistake; he's terrific in the part. We see Frost as an egotist who during the course of this project learns to mature. He develops a political sensibility, he develops as an interviewer and he even grows up a bit as a man. I enjoyed the minor side-story about his developing relationship with a lady he "picks up" on a plane trip, and how his growing attachment to her helps him stop acting quite so much like a little boy.

Nixon, too, struggles with some unattractive boyish characteristics. He's got an ego even huger than Frost's. He likes being catered to and he has a fiery temper. Yet he can be a disarmingly charming host, is clearly a lot smarter than he lets on, and he has the ability to at least fake a self-effacing sense of humor. And he sees through Frost and knows how to get under his skin.

It's this ability that makes the early rounds of their interview go so poorly for Frost. For 90% of the film, we can't help but admire Nixon. And this is the great strength of the film...it never takes a major side. You could say in the end Nixon looks like a "bad guy," but has anyone ever seriously denied that this man did some bad things? To me, in the end, Nixon was humbled but still engaging, intelligent and a little mischievous. I assumed the film would vilify him from beginning to end...but this did not end up being an Oliver Stone-like screed at all. I actually kinda liked the guy by the time it was over.

Sam Rockwell, the always enjoyable Oliver Platt, Kevin Bacon and a fine supporting cast all do nice work...but the film comes down to the duel of words between the two title characters. The script gives them great material to work with and Sheen & Langella knock it out of the park!

In the end, FROST/NIXON doesn't stir any serious emotions. This keeps it from being right at the top of my "best of" lists. It's hard to imagine this subject matter could ever do that. Director Ron Howard does perfectly serviceable work, but it's clear he knows his main job is to let his two leads do their thing and to simply provide them with the best lighting and camera angles he can. But my wife and I spent a lot of time talking about it afterwards...which is always a good sign. And amazingly enough for a film that is mostly about two guys talking...I actually felt a few edge-of-your-seat moments. FROST/NIXON was a VERY pleasant surprise, and I strongly recommend it.

(I do wish it was easier to know what was true and what was "poetic license.")

For three years after his resignation from the presidency, Richard Nixon (Langella) remained in seclusion in California. He made no appearances, he gave no interviews. Then, a British talk-show host named David Frost (Sheen) offered him $500,000 for a series of interviews. They would cover Domestic Policy, foreign policy, "Nixon the man," and Watergate. Nixon accepted the deal, figuring he would get a series of easy questions, but Frost was going for something more. Assisted by three allies: John Burt (McFadyen), James Reston Jr. (Rockwell), and Bob Zelnick (Platt), he mounted interview sessions determined to get Nixon to admit he was wrong and committed crimes.

"Frost/Nixon" is a thoroughly engrossing movie, despite the ending being known. Langella and Sheen are great in their respective roles. The story is edge of your seat viewing. Director Ron Howard spends about half the movie reenacting excerpts from the actual interviews, and they are engaging showing a duel of wits where only one can be the winner. I highly recommend this entertaining and engaging film.