Review: Frost/Nixon

[Wick]

Great. 4 on a scale of 5 beams.

Funny and sad in equal measures, this brilliant movie brings to life
the media event that put a postscript on one of the saddest chapters
in American history.

Frank Langella's basso profundo voice and hulking presence cuttingly
reveal Dick Nixon's nasty narcissism. Performances like this are why
Best Actor awards exist, as evidenced by the Tony he won for this
role. Broadway actors all too rarely bring their great roles to the
silver screen. Thankfully Langella didn't have this one taken from him
for the likes of Nicholson or Beatty.

Michael Sheen - not of the American Sheens - uncannily becomes yet
another famous British personality. His Tony Blair in The Queen was
spot on. Here he nails the callow narcissist Frost, capturing as well
the frenetic entrepreneurial energy of this TV creature.

Tricky Dick's profound failures of character poisoned the faith of
generations. Because this American president proved to be a bad apple,
his successors labor under suspicion. In turn, Nixon must forever pay
historical penance for this original sin.

Nixon the historical actor aside, how accurate is the movie to the
historical reality? One key scene - Nixon's drunken midnight call to
Frost - never happened in reality according to Frank Langella. So that
pushes up the circoreality score.

Rest of the review at http://www.wikpik.com/movie_reviews/1565-frostnixon