Only One Can Win the Duel

Rating: 8/10 (9 February 2009)

Richard Nixon is perhaps the simplest or most difficult President to analyze. That is one of the reasons why his presidency has been constantly disputed and reviewed with plays, films and operas about the man.
But seldom has there been an occasion where people are drawn to see Nixon after his Presidency. The premise of this film is the disgraced President going to "duel" with a long shot talkshow host named David Frost in a series of interviews. I personally was more drawn to the film in learning how a man like David Frost could gain the courage and strength to interview the President of the United States.
The film is delivered as a tastefully done biopic taking the story from both stories with Frost putting all he has on the line in the interviews and Nixon trying to regain his tarnished legacy. Both of the actors play their characters very well nearly capturing the key aspects of them. Langella matches the deep voice and muttering of Nixon very well and Sheen nearly matches Frost's appearance and looks.
The film is an excellent duel of words and shows raw emotion of the President and a talk show host.