Cast: Michael Sheen, Frank Langella, Sam Rockwell, Matthew MacFadyen

Director: Ron Howard

Screenplay: Peter Morgan

Running time: 2 hrs 2 mins

Genre: Dramas



CRITIQUE:


From the précis of Frost/Nixon, a Peter Morgan-penned play-turned-screenplay, it seems like a tedious, talky film that revolves around a singular interview, and even more off-putting, about the Watergate scandal of the Nixonian America. Just who really wants to reiterate this material? Ron Howard does. And forget The Da Vinci Code historical spelunking – this is more riveting cinema, more thrilling than the sight of a ghastly-haired Tom Hanks solving religious puzzles. What might be his best work for ages, this is uncompromising even in his own standards, learning the devices and techniques that makes a rather gripping piece out of a quandary-ridden story. The secret here then is turning the famous interview into an intellectual boxing match, as Michael Sheen’s vainglorious Frost learns to douse out the blazing pride of Frank Langella’s Nixon. The two seats are opposite each other, but they are lit in a way a boxing rink does, and they are set in a verbal sparring, a match that explores the travesty of truth and lays bare the personalities hidden beneath the bravados. Kudos then for Morgan for giving the characters precisely sharp words to say. Those who appreciated The Queen’s savage-yet-subtle screenplay would find Frost/Nixon incredibly satisfying. This is served by Howard’s option to structure in a quasi-documentary mode, with actors playing real-life characters (an excellent supporting cast) opining to the camera in washed-out greys, and building up the tension with a quick verve of editing. That says it all, but the limelight really goes to its two star players: Michael Sheen, ever the spectacular Brit thespian who can embody any role with finesse, gives his Frost a ridiculous self-importance but of a measured depth as he learns his ways of journalism; and Frank Langella for more than just his sputtering, growling, tempestuous voice but providing Nixon a slight stoop and a wearied face. As the camera goes for the close-up, layers upon layers of paraded personalities are shed off, and what we see is a man weathered with guilt and defeat.



VERDICT:

Everybody knows who’s going to win the verbal sparring, as the forward-slash in Frost/Nixon illustrates it, but as Frost tilts toward Nixon, there’s a humanity that shows in this thrilling, engrossing political and intellectual boxing match.




RATING: A-