For $600,000 a politician might say just about anything.

Rating: 9/10 (27 December 2008)

Imagine this scene. You're in a theater, the lights are dimming, the curtain is rising, the spotlight brightens the center of the stage and into that bright spotlight enters ... Richard M. Nixon. Then the spotlight widens and reveals another man, David Frost. They both bow to the audience and then take a seat and start a conversation about Richard Nixon. It's not journalism, it's theater. It's not candid, it's rehearsed. It's not spontaneous, it's been meticulously planned by Frost and an entire production company which has been selling air time to pay for Mr. Nixon's fee. Then after the interview both men go their separate ways, one with a check for $600,000 in his pocket, the other with a newfound career as the entertainment impresario, all this under the guise of journalism, affording it a degree of legitimacy demanded by historians and political scientists. Unlike his 1960 television appearance with the dapper and confident John F. Kennedy, which was not theater but a political debate, Mr. Nixon is cool, calm and gets flustered only when the intensity of the interview begins to sag, necessitating something dramatic to generate audience interest in what is an otherwise humdrum affair. For who cares what Mr. Nixon has to say? And besides, how long can anyone be expected to listen to the disgraced ex-President drone on and on about his family, his checkered political career, his almost laughable debate with Chairman Khrushchev, his strange relationship with Mr. Kissinger and his meetings with Chairman Brezhnev and Chairman Mao, before falling asleep? And Mr. Frost knows this and he communicates his concerns to Mr. Nixon who obliges as a good performer should, for he is after all Mr. Frost's paid employee who has been given a golden opportunity to emerge from his exile, a chance for one last appearance before the public for which the disgraced ex-President and pardoned wrongdoer is grateful. Then years pass and someone decides to invest millions of dollars in time and money to make a movie about the staged "coming out" of this unusual and troubled man. Strange indeed but Hollywood has done a lot worse and besides a dose of Richard Nixon, properly packaged, is something the public may enjoy provided the dose is not too big, not too strong and not too offensive. Careers have been made and destroyed trying to figure out the life and career of Richard M. Nixon and this movie is but the latest addition to the Nixon genre, once again leaving the audience to wonder: was he really such a bad guy? Did he really have to resign?
There is Richard Nixon as politician. Nixon as crook. Nixon as president. Nixon as an historical figure. And now: Nixon as stage actor. For that is Mr. Nixon's role in this dramatization of a series of interviews produced, staged and conducted not by a journalist, not by a scholar, not by a writer, but by a TV impresario who secures the services of a well-known performer, who happens to be a disgraced ex-President of the United States, to put on a good show. The story maintains a high level of suspense as the film maker causes the audience to wonder how well Mr. Nixon will play his role. Will Mr. Nixon be a dramatic flop who drives away the audience or will he rise to the occasion and thereby help the show achieve high ratings. Whatever the case, this movie admonishes the audience to great take care not to confuse journalism with showmanship and as such anything that Richard Nixon said has to be taken with the biggest grain of salt. After all, for $600,000 a public figure, even a disgraced public figure, might come out of hiding and say just about anything. Nevertheless this is an excellent movie. It offers interesting and engaging portrayals of the two main characters, Frost and Nixon. Frank Langella's resemblance to Richard Nixon is uncanny. The movie also highlights the ludicrous hypocrisy of the pre-interview grandstanding engaged by Frost as he shamelessly hypes up his project to attract an audience. Frost's effort to sell the interviews to networks and sponsors underscores the theatrical nature of the project. Remember: Richard Nixon was PAID to perform, and he gave an excellent performance worthy of a truly gifted actor. Whether Nixon was being candid with Frost is of course another question.