Frost / Nixon [DVD] [2008]

The first time I realized that Michael Sheen was going to be a great actor rather than a good one - was when I watched Ron Howard's superb 2008 film "Frost/Nixon" (nominated for 5 Oscars including Best Picture). Playing the late great Interviewer and Talk Show Host Sir David Frost - he was quite simply magnificent in the part - catching every nuance of the man's mannerisms and speech (the 68-year old Frost was actually on set during the making of the film). And Frank Langella as the wily disgraced ex American President Richard Milhous Nixon blew me away as well - reputedly immersing himself in the role for two years (even being referred to as "Mr. President" on set to keep in character and maintain the isolation of the most powerful man in the world).And as if these two top leads weren't good enough - you also get Sam Rockwell as James Reston, Jr. (author and the conscience of the people), Kevin Bacon as Jack Brennan (Nixon's Chief Of Staff and right-hand man), Matthew MacFadyen as the London Weekend Television Director of Programs John Birt, Oliver Platt as ABC-News Producer Bob Zelnick and Rebecca Hall (of "Parade's End" fame) as Caroline Cushing - Frost's recently acquired sexy and stylish girlfriend. Other heavyweights include a brilliant Toby Jones as the hygiene-obsessed Irving "Swifty" Lazar (an agent who secured 2.3 million dollars for Nixon's Memoirs) and Andy Milder (of "Weeds") as Frank Gannon - a friend of chat-show queen Diane Sawyer.This is a film about politics that needs a script smart enough to decipher its deceptive warrens for an audience - and screenplay writer Peter Morgan delivers again and again in powerhouse dialogues that both entertain and inform (adapted for screen from his own stage play). This is one of those rare films that has a moral centre and takes sides. Yet it also allows the thing to breath - for Nixon the human being to emerge - and gives you enough room to make up your own mind - hero or villain - or both.I was 19 when these staggeringly intimate and loaded interviews happened in 1977 - and still remember their impact as they were broadcast around the world. Tricky Dicky had clearly thought that chat-show lightweight David Frost was simply going to be just anther easy manipulation. The 37th Commander In Chief also figured that he'd grab his $600,000 fee whilst simultaneously talking himself back into the nation's heart (as he'd done before the shame and blame of the Watergate break-ins and his resignation ahead of almost certain Presidential impeachment).The attention to Seventies detail is truly fantastic - the archive footage of the Watergate Scandal, the Senate hearings that followed, the resignation of a sitting American President for the first time in 200 years on August 7th 1974, the garish clothes considered the height of style at the time, the reproduction of the Departure Area at Heathrow in 1977, the Beverley Hilton Hotel room where Frost and his people were encamped. Ron Howard even got two actual locations - 'La Casa Pacifica' - Nixon's mini White House home on the beaches of San Clemente and The Smith's home in Monarch Bay (also in California) where the 4 days and 28 hours of one-on-one no holes barred interviews were conducted.Because Frost was a star at the time in both Australia and Britain and under pressure to deliver - the film smartly shows us that he had on occasion to be reminded by his aides of the worst crime of all - Nixon using the interviews as a way to exonerate himself with the electorate (and on his terms). But credit must go to the canny Frost who had other ideas - finally pushing the old Republican dog into admissions during their Titanic word spars. And of course that famous breakthrough television moment when Nixon finally offered up something of an 'apology' to the hurting American people - combined with what appeared to be a genuine tear of regret in his defensive bloodshot eyes. But even after it was all over and he was leaving The Smiths home like a beaten Gladiator - Nixon's media instinct kicked in. He walked over to a bystander to pet a Dachshund dog in her arms for all the cameras to see (some even saying that if there had been a mother and baby nearby - he'd have used them too). It spoke volumes of the man.In the end was it all a way back in - a ploy - setting the ground for his next few decades of public works? Could you actually believe anything this consummate evader said? The relevancy of the film to today's political landscape couldn't be more apt - and acts as a warning - that we are governed by the 'truth tailored to suit' rather that just the 'truth'. To this day - the general consensus is that Richard Nixon did huge damage to American Politics while presiding over their most pointless and destructive war - Vietnam. And Gerald Ford's all-is-forgiven pardon in the next Presidency felt like a move and not a genuine exoneration.The 2009 BLU RAY picture is properly gorgeous and the colours of the time beautifully rendered. You see so much detail - the flared trousers and plunging halter backs, afghan coats and velvet furnishings, bottle green chandeliers and orange Perspex signs. The EXTRAS are pleasingly long and informative too - over one hour of them including the Real Interviews (you really see how they captured the taste and feel of the room). AUDIO Set Up has three languages - English, Spanish Castellano and German; SUBTITLES are in English SDH, Spanish Castellano and German."Frost/Nixon" is a film that stays with you - a sort of historical reminder that accountability in public office must always remain transparent - lest the lies of our handlers and the hissing of snakes swallow us all...

Sir David Frost is one of the most revered journalists of our time and is considered by many to be a national institution. However, things haven't always been so good for Sir David. During the early 1970s, his career was floundering. He had fingers in pies all over the world, with shows the UK, the US, Australia all running simultaneously. Each pie was slowly going rotten though and Frost's future in broadcasting looked increasingly bleak. So he decided to take the bull by the horns and risk his entire career on one big interview. And guess what - the gamble paid off.Struggling TV chat show host David Frost (Michael Sheen) believes that an interview with only one man will rescue his career - former American President Richard Nixon (Frank Langella). He is determined to get a confession from the disgraced former leader over the Watergate scandal, but Nixon proves to be a more formidable opponent than Frost had initially thought.Political interviews are normally pretty heavy areas. But the sharp and snappy screenplay by Peter Morgan (scriptwriter of the original stage play) makes Frost/Nixon a difficult film not to enjoy. In David Frost, he's created a true film underdog and a `hero' that the audience can root for. He was a broadcaster down on his luck and was seen as an easy target by Nixon and his advisers. Frost was also taking massive personal risks by funding the interviews personally. The build up to the interview is also full of humour, which is all the better as it's actually believable, such as when Nixon meets Frost's girlfriend Caroline (Rebecca Hall), he advises her to marry her, as she's a resident in Monaco, and "they pay no taxes there".By the time the interviews are actually reached, it's impossible not to get caught up in events. The head-to-head between the two are like a cross between a boxing match and a ballet. Each competitor glides round the other, waiting for the chance to land the sucker punch. This continues through all four interviews, but in the end, as in boxing, there can only ever be one winner. The Frost/Nixon interviews saw the birth of the television-close up and director Ron Howard uses these brilliantly, allowing Nixon's twitches and eyes to tell more than the dialogue ever could.Reuniting the former stage stars is a master stroke, with both Frost and Langella embodying, rather than mimicking, their respective characters. Sheen, impressionist extraordinaire, masters Frost's mannerisms and that immortal line - "Hello, good evening and welcome" - perfectly. His is a charming, but also a nervous Frost, as he knows he is way in over his head, and these interviews will mean all or nothing for his career. Admittedly, Langella's Nixon isn't as good as Hopkin's Nixon, as he's not really slimy enough. However, this is a Nixon three years after Watergate - a different Nixon. Langella captures the essence of a troubled man, who always believed he had done the right thing, and was convinced the interviews with Frost would be his chance to get his side of the story across.Both are backed up by able lieutenants. Nixon has his always loyal Chief of Staff Jack Brennan (Kevin Bacon) and crafty agent Swifty Lazar (Toby Jones), whereas Frost has his producer John Birt (a comic Matthew Macfadyen) and Watergate investigators James Reston Jr. (Sam Rockwell) and Bob Zelnick (Oliver Platt), who provide a counterbalance to Frost's blasé attitude.When writing these `factional' accounts, screenwriters should always bear in mind that many of these films will be some people's sole source of information on certain subjects. Frost/Nixon perhaps take it's artistic licence too far, with the insertion of a late-night drunken phone call between the two protagonists. Although this gives Frost the spur to turn things round for the final interview, a better device should have been found for doing so.The VerdictAn utterly compelling battle of intelligence and wit, anchored by two brilliant performances from Sheen and Langella.