FROST/NIXON

UNIVERSAL

RELEASED 23 January 2009

Our very own David Frost is the star of a new movie that has been almost universally praised by critics. In 1977, Frost acquired an exclusive interview with the disgraced President Nixon. Nixon had ambitions to re-enter the political landscape in some form, and regarded Frost as an easy touch, someone who he could manipulate into portraying himself as a sympathetic and reformed man. But behind Frost was a team desperate to get some form of admission of guilt over Watergate, whether for justice or simply ratings. Oliver Platt, Sam Rockwell, and Matthew Macfadyen play the men pushing Frost to the high-point of his professional life. Based on a play from Peter Morgan's stageplay are Frank Langella, who won a Tony for his portrayal of Nixon, and Michael Sheen, who fully inhabited the part of Frost onstage in London and New York.

‘Frost/Nixon’ is mainly a ‘talking heads’ movie, but such is the strength of the script (Morgan also wrote ‘The Queen’ and ‘The Other Boleyn Girl’, both of which I hated) that there is no need for creative camerawork or flashy editing. Obviously what worked on the stage works just as well on the screen.

Like a verbal boxing match, the joy of the movie is in seeing how Frost gradually goes from playboy TV star to serious political journalist as he senses how close he is to achieving a world exclusive. There is something rather unsatisfying about the end, as although Frost got something, he didn’t really get everything, but I guess a lot of the pleasure in the movie is of the hunt, as Frost chases Nixon, only for Nixon’s brain to outwit Frost time and time again, until Frost ups his game. Langella looks nothing like the real Nixon but he gets the voice and the attitude spot-on, portraying a man who never seems comfortable with the media side of politics and merely wants to wield some influence in the world again. By the end of the movie, you actually feel sorry for the old sod.

Acting-wise, the leads are perfect, with Sam Rockwell, Kevin Bacon, and Toby Jones being the pick of the supporting cast. Jones gets most of the movie’s laughs actually, as Nixon’s agent who can always squeeze a few more dollars out of a deal. Bacon has very few lines, but uses his mere presence to great effect.

Opening the 2008 London Film Festival, ‘Frost/Nixon’ is a welcome treat for anyone unable to see the original play. A tightly written and acted ‘battle of the wills’ story about a piece of American history.  

THREE OUT OF FIVE