Director: Ron Howard
Usually films about politics and politicians are quite dull, but "Frost/Nixon" is a nice exception. Based on the critically acclaimed play of the same name, it focuses on the 1977 interviews between British television presenter David Frost and former President of the United States Richard Nixon.
Michael Sheen plays Frost, and Frank Langella gives an outstanding performance as President Nixon. They had the same roles in the stage play, in which Langella won a Tony and several other theater awards for the best lead actor performance. He has also been nominated for an Academy Award for best actor.
The film concentrates on the interviews Nixon sold to Frost, an entertainer popular for his light-hearted humorous shows. His desire to get famous in America leads him to put all his efforts in getting financial and moral support. The latter of the two is harder to achieve, as everyone sees him as clown trying to do a serious job, and predicts failure.
It starts to look like the skeptics are right, as Frost does not prepare much for the interviews, rather he builds a team, which works for him, and finds himself a girlfriend (played by Rebecca Hall, who is overshadowed by her fellow actors), until his ambitions are hurt.
The star of the film, however, is resigned President Richard Nixon. The brilliant performance by Langella made Nixon look like a human being 's a very misunderstood, defeated and lonely one. But he keeps these feelings to himself and is still full of self-esteem and pride from the outside. Langella did not just imitate Nixon; he epitomized the personality.
This does not really apply to Michael Sheen. Though he perfectly personifies the extravagant TV personality and shows the spirit of the time, his facial expressions lacked variety and he only clings to his few favorite ones.
A strong group of supporting actors, who play diverse and vivid personalities, enlivens the film. The ones from Nixon's circles contrast with those from Frost's, making it enjoyable to watch the battle between the firm and stern politicians and the snoopy media.
Now showing in all three countries
