a powerful political piece

Rating: 9/10 (18 December 2008)

Now, I'm not the kind of guy who's into politically-charged dramas. Almost 70% of the time, I sleep through them. I think the reason why that is is because I hate politics. I truly, sincerely 100% hate politics. I pay my taxes and that's it, my only valid brush with politics. So when I find out that a politically-charged drama is in the runnings for the Oscar season, my first reaction was to skip it. But then, in the immortal words of Will Smith (or is it that Lawrence guy?), the sh8t just got real. It was turning into something. The critics gave it favorable reviews and the audience even. So with that in mind, I decided to give it a try. Ron Howard needed to come back out strong after a disappointing The Da Vinci Code. Its all or nothing for him.
Well, after all the hullaballu, only one thing can be said after watching Frost/Nixon: a masterpiece. Simply astounding. Compelling and powerful. Langella gives the performance of a lifetime as President Nixon. There is no doubt in mind that he'll be nominated for Best Actor in every Award ceremonies out there, including the Oscars. Langella turned Nixon into a well thought out and complex character and he even adapted the President's deep blue voice. There's some steep competition this year in the Best Actor category with Sean Penn, Brad Pitt and Mickey Rourke also in the runnings. No one really knows who's coming out on top, they're all great, but one thing is for sure, its gonna be one hell of a race.
Michael Sheen on the other hand also did a magnificent job as David Frost, the fearless and ambitious journalist who defied all odds and pinned down a mighty giant. He was indeed a worthy adversary to Langella's Nixon and he is as intense as Langella in his own kind of way. Sam Rockwell and Oliver Platt plays Frost's top researchers and they were quite exceptional as well. Sam Rockwell in yet another character role supports the film with intensity and although his performance will be overlooked because of Langella and Sheen, he's still one of my favorites and his time will come soon. A talent like that, that's pretty hard to be missed. Kevin Bacon also, great showcase of talent as the right hand man to Nixon. Like Rockwell, he delivers a fine performance that cannot be missed. With a solid and gripping screenplay from Peter Morgan and a top notch directing from Howard and everybody else in between, Frost/Nixon is a film you can't afford to miss. One of 2008's finest.