No Holds Barred

Rating: 7/10 (3 January 2009)

Greetings again from the darkness. Film interpretation of the play starring the same two leads, standout director Ron Howard evidently demanded Mr. Langella and Mr. Sheen be cast in their stage roles. What a simple and brilliant decision ... these two are captivating.
Peter Morgan is the playwright and also wrote the screenplay, so the key players were intimately familiar and engaged in the material. Nowhere is that more evident than the ferocious performance of Frank Langella as former President Nixon. Langella's performance reminds of Forrest Whitaker as Idi Amin in "Last King of Scotland" (not coincidentally penned by Mr. Morgan). The nuances of his performance are fascinating and can only be appreciated through multiple viewings. His gait, mannerisms, voice and expressions capture the ego, power and vulnerability of this man.
Overshadowed by Langella's performance, Michael Sheen does an outstanding job as David Frost, the performer/interviewer that really just jumped into this thing for ratings. The importance of the event did not hit him until much later. Sheen is best known for his stellar work as Tony Blair in "The Queen" (also written by Peter Morgan), but I believe this may even be better.
Strong support work from the cast of Oliver Platt, Sam Rockwell, Kevin Bacon, Mattew McFayden, Toby Jones as super-agent Swifty Lazar and Rebecca Hall (most recent of "Vicki Cristina Barcelona"). Nice to see Mr. Howard cast his brother Clint and father Rance again. Something cool about the family togetherness.
While the film really makes me want to re-visit the original interviews from 1977, it makes me a bit sad that Gen X and Gen Y'ers probably don't understand the lasting impact Nixon and Watergate and the interviews have had on political reporting in general and politicians in general. Here we get a glimpse of the megalomania that goes along with a lifelong dream of becoming President of the United States. While there is certainly differences in perception of each of the men who have held office, there is unquestionably a driving force of power that motivates them. Howard and his fellow project players do a nice job of capturing that.