Movie-Frost/Nixon

Frost/Nixon was an Oscar nominated film, being nominated for Best Picture, Frank Langella nominated for Best Actor and Ron Howard nominated for Best Director. It won in none of these categories.

Who would have thought a compelling movie could have been made about setting up a political interview with Richard Nixon? But that is what Ron Howard did create in Frost/Nixon (2008), as he weaves the story of the interviews themselves, with the behind-the-scenes story of how the interviews came about and how they almost destroyed David Frost.

Richard Nixon continues to be a fascinating political figure. You look at many of his policies in the light of today's politics, and he is almost liberal, starting the EPA and the Endangered Species Act. But Nixon suffered from an acute paranoia. Even when he had a huge lead in 1972 over McGovern, he still had the burglars go into Watergate. Why? A crippling paranoia. And there is one pivotal scene in this movie, a telephone conversation between British entertainer David Frost, and the ex-president, that shows this all too well. And it is Nixon's undoing in the interviews, as it was for his political career.

Frank Langella does not imitate Nixon per se...he does not really look like him or sound like him. But after 10 minutes you really start believing in him as Nixon. He walks that line of Nixon's confidence and paranoia so well.

The movie is also about public relations...controlling the interview, hitting your copy points, answering the question you want to answer, not the one asked. Nixon could do that very well, until he became unravelled.

Ron Howard takes a topic that could be dry and boring and makes it political and social theater, and entertaining theater at that.