Very Well-acted Yet Sterile Expose of Watergate saga

Rating: 4/10 (4 March 2004)

The parts are amazingly well-cast and well-acted. This is a true ensemble piece with wonderful performances throughout. The script is certainly literate, thoroughly researched, and when allowed to be heard without distracting interspersements and ponderous camera angles, is gripping.

However, Alan J. Pakula's direction is so bad, that I consider the film as a whole to be wildly over-rated. He takes a story that really should be told chronologically -- as it was written -- and decides to just slice and dice events according to his muse. The result is slow, more than a bit pedantic, and disjointed. Also, despite the strong performances, Pakula keeps the viewer at two arms' lengths and the distance also hinders enjoyment. This should have been a classic - but it isn't.