Resonates long after the credits have rolled.

Rating: Null/10 (27 January 2009)

First of all, let's just clear the elephant out of the room; I, being far too young to have even glimpsed at a TV set to catch the original airings of the Frost/Nixon interviews, have no real knowledge on either the Watergate scandal or the presidency of Richard Nixon. Or at least, I didn't before viewing this feature. Indeed, politics or political history isn't anywhere near my forte of special interests; I make no pretence to enjoy either and so met this very movie with a little bit of reservation.
Yet, such as so many recent examples (Charlie Wilson's War, W., Che) have in the end won me over despite their political background, Frost/Nixon too manages to overcome its somewhat esoteric history-lesson documentation to move onto a much more compelling drama and character study. The result is a feature which makes an impact on both the intellect and heart- crafting characters that are discernible as human beings and yet not to the point where all factual backing is lost. Historians as far as I can gather, may be ill at ease at the extent to which such facts are toyed with here, yet upon this shift of focus to dramatization, Frost/Nixon transcends beyond mere document and offers a much more personal and human side to perhaps one of the biggest political scandals in the history of the United States.
Most importantly however especially for those sharing my ignorant disposition- no real knowledge is required or even expected from audiences in order to enjoy what is on offer here. Sure enough, a little debrief before hand can't hurt, yet the movie is layered in such a manner that both those deeply interested in the scandal and those less knowledgeable can take something from the experience. For what it's worth, Peter Morgan's screenplay (which is based on his play) gives enough of a history lesson, and hands out the necessary facts to make Frost/Nixon as little in the way of perplexing or polarising as he can whilst maintaining historical integrity to his story.
The key factor to entirety of the screenplay's ability to move beyond mere banal retelling of facts however exists in its nuances of character and drama that as the script plainly points out towards its conclusion- moves beyond the usual snapshot glimpse that TV and film usually offer. Instead, Frost/Nixon offers viewers a glimpse into both men, who sat opposite one another, with an ostensibly opposing set of convictions as to why they were engaging in conversations soon to be seen all over the world. Yet, more interesting is that at the same time, both found themselves sharing a strange dualism that in the end accommodated and afforded one of history's most important political revelations in the form of a confession. That confession, as obvious and warranted as it was to most of the county's inhabitants, wasn't easy going however, and it was a long ride to get there.
Opening with a series of faux-interview's with the movie's actors who are in character as their personas, Morgan's script outlines the reasons as to why Frost, and not anybody else eventually got the job done. The reasoning? Simple; Frost knew TV. He didn't know very much politics and he had never sat opposite such a figure as Nixon in his entire career, yet despite a blundering start, at least managed to engage the former president in a dual of wits which in the end provided American with its long awaited moment of catharsis. These scenes, which are wonderfully constructed by Morgan and loosely based upon actual source material, provide what are essentially the movie's centrepieces alongside a stark, attention grabbing conversation between the two men over a phone line.
Both actors, Frank Langella and Michael Sheen who play Nixon and Frost respectively, embody their personas with conviction shaded with emotive human qualities often lost within the average political-aligned feature. Indeed, this shift from mere caricature bio-play to much more rounded, human performances ties in with the feature's main focus upon story rather than fact; crafting a character study that draws upon the heart more so than the intellect, and as a dramatized account rather than documentary, certainly plays out all the better for it.
The most important element to which many of the best bio-fics adhere to is that of almost complete, objective neutrality. Of course, when presenting such a feature revolving around a figure as deeply controversial as Richard Nixon, such a balance, or healthy equilibrium is not easy to strike without disgruntling audiences. Yet, much like the interviews themselves, Frost/Nixon does well to present the facts, retrieve the required information from such questioning, whilst all the while staying true to the heart of why such a discussion is taking place in the first place.
In the end, Frost/Nixon strikes its firmest parallel to the source material, not from the straight cut facts (such a degree of loyalty would certainly take a lot more hours to deliver) but through its essence, or, reasoning. Through this shift in focus, the movie paints an intellectually rewarding experience coupled with a surprisingly human portrayal of a man endlessly demonised for his faults. This fate, which has been used for many a tragedy inevitably gives Frost/Nixon its biggest punch, and it resonates long after the credits have rolled; it's the moment that gave America what it wanted and it's the same moment here that gives Frost/Nixon is picture perfect climax.

A review by Jamie Robert Ward (http://www.invocus.net)