That Was The Sixties That Was

Rating: 6/10 (3 February 2009)

I'm sort of pleased that such an esoteric confrontation as Frost/Nixon achieved a theatrical stage and I suppose an extension of that is that I'm pleased that such a narrow tail be brought to the wider cinema audience. (Those of us in the sticks have little opportunity for "theatreland".) My pleasure I suppose must spring from the times, the morals. David Frost to me was the clever one (!) amongst the Cambridge Alumni who brought buffoonery and satire to 60s TV. Apparently his star waned in the early 70s, a fact lost of those of us who spent those years isolated at "University" when this meant something so very different.
And Nixon. To be fair, his VP days escaped me as well, (too young), but he was the fag-end of the 60s as much as "Gimme Shelter", (or Altamont for the statistically few who were there.) Again. I learnt about Watergate through Computer Science academic journals. Don't ask me why.
Bring them together.
A good early start, even though Tony Blair seemed to have been drafted in to play Frost. Some light introductions to Nixon as avarice and Frost as archetypical TV presenter. But soon Martin Sheen as Frost seems all Froth. Frank Langella as Nixon, however grows darker and darker. Deeper and deeper.
Then somehow Frost triumphs. I'm sorry. I missed the ascendance. The all important on camera turnaround was lame. And I'm afraid that affects my overall view.
Ron (Viewed 25Jan09)