Frost/Nixon: A Review.

Rating: 6/10 (31 January 2009)

Though far from being one of the defining films of the president at its center, "Frost/Nixon" is an interesting-enough take on his famous post-resignation interviews in an era when Americans were disenchanted with the office of their president, though it follows the typical formula of its director.
Although "Frost/Nixon," the new movie from director Ron Howard, is presaged on Richard Nixon, the United States president who resigned from office in disgrace, and his series of interviews in 1977 with the British television talk show host David Frost, it is more about people working to overcome the odds and obstacles they face in order to prevail when most other people expected otherwise. In other words, it basically follows the typical Ron Howard formula, like "Apollo 13" and "Cinderella Man." This is not to diminish the premise of the film in any way, as it remains an intriguing one, nonetheless, despite the foregone conclusions of those who are familiar with Howard's other work. The second major political docudrama set in the 1970s to premiere in US theaters in about as many weeks (after "Milk") "Frost/Nixon" has been given the visual appearance of a somewhat a downbeat documentary, with its frequently muted colors and dim lighting, by cinematographer Salvatore Totino, as well as a light, often comical, though not always appropriate, feel by writer Peter Morgan. The various key players from both sidesexcept the two in the title roleseach appear in their own little "interviews" talking about their recollections concerning the main topic at hand and, in so doing, providing a narrative context of sorts (a device loosely similar to that employed by "Milk").
The picture is at its most riveting when it shows the destruction of such a man during the interviews by Frost, who was widely considered unqualified for the task of doing just that. Nixon, who held the most prominent and powerful job in the world, who finally forced to admit to himself, through Frost's interviews, that much of his presidency, and himself, is a sham, that his legacy will reflect as such for all future generations in the US, and that he will have to live with it for the rest of his life. That is, by far, the most interesting part of the movie.
Yet, only a relatively small portion, the last half-hour of a feature with a running time four times that length, is devoted to it. The remainder concerns itself, essentially, with David Frost's underestimation of his subject and his failings as a serious journalist. Frost, incarnated by Michael Sheen (also reprising his Broadway stage role), is a talk show playboy who is very nearly the definition of carefree and flamboyant. But he is also ambitious and, ultimately, determined. This is a man who seeks a seven-part television interview with Richard Nixon, despite not having what most journalists and broadcasters would consider the right credentials, and attains it. That, however, is only the start of the battle toward realizing his goal, as he must find financing to actually produce the series of episodes, financing that remains elusive even during the actual taping. Then, there's the small matter that Frost has no clue how to handle an interviewee as shrewd and manipulative as "Tricky Dick" Nixon, who is an expert at twisting critical questions to his advantage and dominating a conversation by rambling on about the extensive small details in his considerably large memory.