Rated:
Good but not great
**
Director:
Ron Howard
Writer:
Peter Morgan
from his
play
Ron Howard is a good director. He's not great, but he's good. He can point a camera the right way and get what he needs. Unfortunately, that makes most of his films flat and very by-the-book. I don't think every director should break the film making rules, but even Spielberg can blow your mind with an amazing shot. Howard's not about that. He just wants to tell the story as simplistically as possible, which is why this movie fell short of my expectations.
I was born three years after the Frost interview of Nixon was taped and aired, so I had no idea that it existed until the film was released. The film begins the day that Nixon resigns office after the Watergate scandal (if you don't know what that is, go look it up, because I won't go into it here) and David Frost, world-renowned TV personality, gets the brilliant idea to have a sit-down chat with Nixon and find out all there is to know. We never really understand why Frost, a Jay Leno-type of guy, would want to interview Nixon beyond an ego-boost.
First they have to convince Nixon, who is fielding other offers, to allow Frost to do the interview, and after $600,000 paycheck Nixon realizes that only Frost can do the interview justice. Frost's pre-production team consisting of Oliver Platt and Sam Rockwell go into research mode, digging up every piece of dirt in Nixon's past. Frost, however, is more interested in the limelight and everyone is afraid he will soft-pedal the former President, which is exactly what happens for the first three of the four planned interviews. Nixon's team have coached him how to act and he's playing Frost like a dime-store ukelele.
Frost feels like a fool and realizes that Nixon is stringing him along, so he decides to spent the remaining days before the final interview on Watergate to bone up on everything Nixon. On the day of the interview, Frost takes Tricky Dick to task and we finally see the real, hurting Nixon shine through the wrinkled, stoic facade. He isn't a doddering old fool, he's just a lonely old man man who feels he has made some mistakes and knows he has to live with it for the rest of his life. The world finally gets to hear Nixon speak and Frost reaps the rewards by sprining back into the spotlight that so many denied him.
You can't help but feel sorry for Nixon, but then you think about all the terrible decisions and double-dealing that went on during his administration and that pity fades. The film, a very standard, by-the-numbers affair, will also fade, but from our memories. The acting is wonderful, but Howard is not up to the task to make the film really pop. This film will leave you disappointed if you expect something great, but if you expect a Lifetime movie, then you'll have an okay two hours. At the end, I found myself in a curious position, I had no feelings for the film. Usually, after I finish a film I know how I'm going to review it. But with this one I had a tough time coming up with any thoughts. It's a weird thing when a film is so "meh" that I have zero response to it. That goes to show you how much of a blank this film felt to me.
Ron Howard
Writer:
Peter Morgan
from his
play
Ron Howard is a good director. He's not great, but he's good. He can point a camera the right way and get what he needs. Unfortunately, that makes most of his films flat and very by-the-book. I don't think every director should break the film making rules, but even Spielberg can blow your mind with an amazing shot. Howard's not about that. He just wants to tell the story as simplistically as possible, which is why this movie fell short of my expectations.
I was born three years after the Frost interview of Nixon was taped and aired, so I had no idea that it existed until the film was released. The film begins the day that Nixon resigns office after the Watergate scandal (if you don't know what that is, go look it up, because I won't go into it here) and David Frost, world-renowned TV personality, gets the brilliant idea to have a sit-down chat with Nixon and find out all there is to know. We never really understand why Frost, a Jay Leno-type of guy, would want to interview Nixon beyond an ego-boost.
First they have to convince Nixon, who is fielding other offers, to allow Frost to do the interview, and after $600,000 paycheck Nixon realizes that only Frost can do the interview justice. Frost's pre-production team consisting of Oliver Platt and Sam Rockwell go into research mode, digging up every piece of dirt in Nixon's past. Frost, however, is more interested in the limelight and everyone is afraid he will soft-pedal the former President, which is exactly what happens for the first three of the four planned interviews. Nixon's team have coached him how to act and he's playing Frost like a dime-store ukelele.
Frost feels like a fool and realizes that Nixon is stringing him along, so he decides to spent the remaining days before the final interview on Watergate to bone up on everything Nixon. On the day of the interview, Frost takes Tricky Dick to task and we finally see the real, hurting Nixon shine through the wrinkled, stoic facade. He isn't a doddering old fool, he's just a lonely old man man who feels he has made some mistakes and knows he has to live with it for the rest of his life. The world finally gets to hear Nixon speak and Frost reaps the rewards by sprining back into the spotlight that so many denied him.
You can't help but feel sorry for Nixon, but then you think about all the terrible decisions and double-dealing that went on during his administration and that pity fades. The film, a very standard, by-the-numbers affair, will also fade, but from our memories. The acting is wonderful, but Howard is not up to the task to make the film really pop. This film will leave you disappointed if you expect something great, but if you expect a Lifetime movie, then you'll have an okay two hours. At the end, I found myself in a curious position, I had no feelings for the film. Usually, after I finish a film I know how I'm going to review it. But with this one I had a tough time coming up with any thoughts. It's a weird thing when a film is so "meh" that I have zero response to it. That goes to show you how much of a blank this film felt to me.
VERDICT:
This film could have been a masterpiece in the hands of Oliver Stone, or even Martin Scorsese, but in Ron Howard's hands its basically a movie-of-the-week with some good actors. It's worth a watch, but don't expect to be floored, because there's nothing very earth-shattering here. Expect this one to be forgotten by next year. Anyone remember "THE MISSING" or "ED TV"? 'Nuff said.
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