When the President does it, that means it's not illegal!

Rating: 10/10 (31 October 2011)

Hollywood heavyweight Ron Howard adapts playwright Peter Morgan's West End hit for the silver screen with this feature focusing on the 1977 television interviews between British journalist David Frost and former president of the United States,Richard Nixon in the movie,Frost/Nixon. It is a historical drama film dramatizes the Frost/Nixon interviews of 1977.It stars Michael Sheen Frost and Frank Langella as former President Nixon.
At the time Nixon sat down with Frost to discuss the sordid details that ultimately derailed his presidency, it had been three years since the former commander in chief had been forced out of office in '77. The Watergate scandal was still fresh in everyone's minds, and he had remained notoriously tight-lipped until he agreed to sit down with Frost. Nixon was certain that he could hold his own opposite the up-and- coming British broadcaster, and even Frost's own people weren't quite sure their boss was ready for such a high-profile interview. When the interview ultimately got under way and each man eschewed the typical posturing in favor of the simple truth, fans and critics on both sides were stunned by what they witnessed. Instead of Nixon stonewalling the interviewer as expected, or Frost lobbing softballs as the truth-seekers feared, what emerged was an unguardedly honest exchange between a man who had lost everything and another with everything to gain.At the time Nixon sat down with Frost to discuss the sordid details that ultimately derailed his presidency, it had been three years since the former commander in chief had been forced out of office. The Watergate scandal was still fresh in everyone's minds, and Nixon had remained notoriously tight-lipped until he agreed to sit down with Frost. Nixon was certain that he could hold his own opposite the up-and-coming British broadcaster, and even Frost's own people weren't quite sure their boss was ready for such a high-profile interview. When the interview ultimately got under way and each man eschewed the typical posturing in favor of the simple truth, fans and critics on both sides were stunned by what they witnessed. Instead of Nixon stonewalling the interviewer as expected, or Frost lobbing softballs as the truth-seekers feared, what emerged was an unguardedly honest exchange between a man who had lost everything and another with everything to gain.
The film excels in recreating that landmark interview and the behind- the-scenes look at the power struggles between the two people.Also,it tells us how the former president was able to come up with memorable quotes such as "When the President does it,that means it's not illegal" through the British broadcaster's interviewing skills.Also,Ron Howard succeeds in providing interest to the viewer in a rather mundane,ordinary and not-so-interesting interview that makes the movie engaging,absorbing and worth watching. With respect to the performances of the actors,Langella excels in not mimicking the former president but rather in trying to bring the his natural personality and demeanor. In summary,Frost/Nixon succeeds in providing an unlikely tension and suspense in an unforgettable event.