see it for the craftsmanship, sure, but the title fight is the real kicker- and a towering performance

Rating: 9/10 (27 December 2008)

Ron Howard, at his best, can be a very good director in the Hollywood tradition. He's not the kind of artist one might rank Scorsese or Altman or more recently an Aronofsky, but when he's on top of the subject matter he's dependable throughout to deliver on the story. With Frost/Nixon, probably one of his best films (if perhaps by default due to the nature and power of the subject matter and original play), he re-tells in docu-drama form the interview with David Frost and his most challenging "opponent", Richard M. Nixon, 37th President, only one to resign in our Nation's history.
We see all of the prep work undertaken (or, at times, forgone to do other things like seeking out sponsors or Frost's other projects), the pressure simmering under, and then suddenly reeling from the s***storm that Frost may have gotten himself into. This kind of story, unto itself, is nothing very new, and some of the rise-and-fall aspects make it out to be like a sports movie: a boxing match of words and attitude and persistence where one side has an obvious advantage and the other has to combat with facts and the like that can undercut Mr. "Tricky-Dick" himself.
What *does* however make Howard's film a must-see this season are the performances from its cast, primarily Michael Sheen and Frank Langella. Come to think of it, more-so Langella than Sheen; while the Brit does a terrific job as the grinning and ambitious and/or terrified talk show "performer", it's somewhat of a two-dimensional character in the scope of the actual story. Frost wants the big ratings at first, and that's really the priority with the facts and research coming in second for his team (with Sam Rockwell and Oliver Platt as good supporting players), who want to give Nixon the grilling that he and by proxy the American public deserve to lay bare to hear and, more importantly, to see in close-up on TV. He's a sturdy presence, but by himself merely very good but not great.
No, the big contender here is Langella, both for the film and, without having to knock on much wood, as best actor in countless award ceremonies. His work here is to the point of immersion completely in the presence, not even so much the character, of Richard Nixon, to the point that it's a little scary, which is dead on for such a larger-than-life presence as him. He's lightly (or hugely) condescending, subtle, menacing, charming, devious, everything that Nixon the public or in private was, and then some, and Langella captures it in every gesture, every flinch. In a sense it's akin to Streep's latest performance in Doubt in that at first and from time to time it almost seems amusing, though this may be just the obviousness of the character in and of itself (i.e. strict nun and Nixon). But it's the great gift of the actor to go deep into these people- Daniel Day Lewis last year is another prime example- and make us forget what we're seeing, that's real power and skill.
Take simply, if nothing else, maybe my personal favorite scene of the film, when Frost, on edge with the possibility he may lose his regular talk show programs in Australia and England, receives a very late-night call from the ex-President. He's drunk, he's got the tape machine going (of course), and he dominates the conversation. What starts off as an innocent bit about cheeseburgers turns into half-rambling and half monolithic monologue regarding these men's places in life. I was almost kind of smiling at how good Langela is in this scene - this is such bravura work just in these five minutes that one sees both the nature of the complexity that was Nixon on display and how much the actor is willing to let go for the scene. Frost/Nixon may not be a very great movie, but it does contain a very great performance, one that hopefully will be talked about and re watched for years to come.