Frost/Nixon

Plot synopsis:
For a quick background, the movie is based on a series of 1977 interviews between television personality David Frost (played by Michael Sheen) and former President Richard Nixon (played by Frank Langella). Frosts interview was the first granted by Nixon after he resigned the presidency. 45 million people watched, and it still holds the record today for the most-watched political program of all time.The movie opens with a series of real-life news reports from the 1970s, reviewing Nixons role in bugging the Democratic National Committees headquarters at the Watergate Complex in Washington, D.C., in order to keep tabs on what the Democrats were doing leading up to the 1972 elections. Except, of course, the men hired to do the bugging were busted during the break-in, Nixon and his men conspired to cover up the break-in and then, whoops, did not erase the tapes recording their conversations. When the tapes were discovered in 1974, Nixon resigned.Frost finishes taping an episode of his talk show, Frost Across Australia. He and his producers then watch the live broadcast of Nixon waving goodbye (as in, his legendary double-peace-sign wave) from the steps of his helicopter. Frost asks his producer what the worldwide TV ratings would be for that moment, and is told bigger than we will ever see.A few weeks later, Frost is back in his native England, at the London Weekend Television office, the company that employs him. He brings up the possibility of interviewing Nixon, and everyone thinks hes crazy. It is important to note that Frost is sort of known as a fluff interviewer, as in he does not ask very hard-hitting questions. He also drinks. And parties. And sleeps with lots of pretty ladies. So his producers have a legitimate right to laugh because Richard Nixon would never agree to be interviewed by someone like himor would he?Cut to Nixon at his vacation home in California. His advisor, Swifty Lazar, mentions that Frost has made an offer to interview him, and is willing to pay him $600,000 for his time. Lazar says that CBS is only offering $350,000. Oh, and by the way, Lazar says, youll nail him to the wall. Hes a lightweight. And we get brief scenes of Lazar bullying Frost into offering the $600,000 his original offer was $500,000. So Nixon is sold. And now Frost has to pony up this massive amount of money from his own pocket, because initially, no U.S. television station is willing to carry the interviews being that they were outbid by a Brit and are mad about it.Frost sells all his shares in London Weekend Television and calls in favors from wealthy celebrities he had previously interviewed. He raises all the money, pays Nixon, hires two investigators named Zelnick and Reston to help him come up with questions, and the interviews begin. They are finally sold to a British TV station as four 90-minute specials covering four different topics Foreign policy, Domestic policy, Nixons personal life and Watergate.Nixon arrives with his former chief-of-staff, Jack Brennan (Kevin Bacon), who warns Frost that any questions deemed not to his liking will be immediately cut off. The seconds tick down to when the cameras will first start rolling, and as the sound technician begins the count from 5 to 1, Nixon asks Frost if he had an enjoyable evening. Frost says he did. And right as the count reaches 1, Nixon asks, Did you do any fornicating? The cameras flip on and Frost is speechless. Nixon smiles, satisfied. And so goes the first three series of interviews Nixon using huge chunks of time to make long, winding, boring speeches about random things and Frost struggling to interrupt, to ask actual questions of him. It is obvious Nixon is in his element, and Frost is not.Zelnick and Reston who are American, it should be noted, and are angry with Nixon like all Americans were get angry with Frost for the fact that Nixon is using this time to pretty much exonerate himself of any wrongdoing. Frost decides that the crew should break for Easter, as they have spent weeks together doing these interviews. He will use this time to regroup.Four days before they are to begin the final interview on Watergate, Frost wakes up to a phone call in the middle of the night. He answers by saying, cheeseburgers, thinking it is the hotels room service, asking him if he wants anything to eat. Instead, it is Nixon a very drunk Nixon. Frost quickly wakes up and listens to Nixon moan about his life how he is just like Frost, how he began his political career as a man from the wrong side of the tracks and now everyone who is still on the wrong side of the tracks hates him for hitting it big. He also tells Frost that he knows the final interview will make ones career and break the others. He hangs up.Frost has an epiphany its not just about the viewers and the money. He has to get Nixon to confess to his involvement in Watergate. If he doesnt, not only will the interviews not be watched and he will go bankrupt, but the American people who were hoping for some closure to the scandal will lose faith in him and their government. He calls Zelnick and Reston and they get to work.When the group meets for the final interview, Frost mentions the phone call to Nixon. Like most drunk-dialers, however, Nixon asks, What phone call? Brennan overhears and warns Frost that he will break him if anything goes wrong during this final interview. The cameras flip on, and both Frost and Nixon are silent, Nixon waiting for a question and Frost weighing his options. Finally, Frost looks up and asks, Why didnt you just erase the tapes? The room pretty much explodes, as Nixon looks at him, stunned that he asked him an actual question, Brennan comes blasting in and breaks up the interview and the technicians, Zelnick and Reston get very excited at what is happening.Brennan tries to break it up, but Frost isnt having it. Nixon stutters something about not being involved, and then about the bugging being necessary, and Frost gets very angry and asks, So youre saying, just because youre the President, you can do something illegal? And Nixon finally yells back, No when the President does it, it is NOT illegal. The room goes silent. Frost sits back and says, Im sorry? He cant believe it. And the cameramen got it all on tape.Brennan pulls Nixon out into the hall and tells him he can call it off, right now. But Nixon has realized something. He is tired of lying, he says, and he let the American people down. He thanks Brennan for his help, but he did this on his own, and he needs to make up for it on his own. The interviews begin again, with Nixon admitting to the Watergate cover-up, and apologizing to the American people on camera for letting them down. When they are finally edited and shown on TV, the interviews are a massive success, and Frost earns 10% of the advertising profits from the broadcasts. This makes him a millionaire, and a hero in the eyes of many who were waiting for the apology Nixon just gave.The film ends with Frost visiting Nixon at his California home after the interviews air. Frost thanks him for his time. Just as he turns to go, Nixon asks him if they really had a conversation on the phone and, if they did, what they talked about. Frost pauses, and then says, Cheeseburgers, before walking away.

Tags: suspenseful, boring, historical, flashback

Review:
A remarkable performance by Frank Langella as Richard Nixon transforms this unexpected Ron Howard film into a gripping and unforgettable experience.
This is not a criticism at all, the film has moments of surprisingly real depth and intellectualism, but overall the nature of the script works in its favor, makes those scenes more interesting, more ultimately rewarding."Frost/Nixon" is an entertaining, exciting film, around as populist as I expected but in a very different way.
From the very first scene a carefully crafted and very credible 70s's atmosphere sets a solid stage for the superbly cast film and quickly transports the viewer into the political jungle that was "Tricky Dickey's" playground.The acting duo of Frank Langella & Micheal Sheen (Nixon & Frost) are set on a collision course that finds two deeply passionate personalities at the mercy of their insatiable desires.
Langella's marvelous performance as the bedazzled Richard Nixon and Michael Sheen's terrific portrayal of the rigorous David Frost combined with Ron Howard's magnificent direction make the movie a memorable one.
It didn't seem so in the run-up to the event, but British talk show host/interviewer David Frost's 1977 series of four on screen encounters with the disgraced ex-President Richard Nixon was great, historic television.
Nixon is dead, and though he may have won three rounds out of four in the Frost interviews, his legacy is tainted.The show belongs to Sheen and Langella, but Bacon is excellent as the stiff, loyal Col. Brennan, and Sam Rockwell strong in an unusually serious role for him.
Ron Howard's competent film adaptation of Peter Morgan's play (who also scripted and co-produced here) dramatizes the famous Frost/Nixon interviews from 1977.
Though it takes quite awhile to get where it's going, the final interview where Frost takes Nixon head-on about the Watergate cover-up is a payoff well worth the wait.Of course the most fascinating aspect of the film is Frank Langella's portrayal of a shamed and swollen Richard Nixon.
It is a testament to Peter Morgan's humility and skill as a writer and Ron Howard's ability to take a based on real events story to which the outcome is widely known and create a compelling "what will happen" drama (as he did with Apollo 13) that Frost/Nixon succeeds as a film.This is a film based on a play that neither felt trapped in staginess nor weakly expanded with just the stage dialogue delivered exactly but in a variety of outdoor locales.
It may best serve the story creating the sense of claustrophobia necessary to keep you gripped but it does feel like a film of two halves because of it and it noticeable.Frank Langella and Michael Sheen are superb, as they were on stage, and Langella will take a lot of beating for the Oscar this year.
There is an element of discernible manipulation of the audience, but mostly it works, and you don't long resist it.The (relatively) unsung hero of the film besides Howard, Frank Langella's tremendous Nixon, and Michael Sheen's excellent Frost is the screenwriter: once again Peter Morgan (of "The Last King of Scotland" and "The Queen") engages mind and heart, and doesn't let go.
Sam Rockwell's James Reston, Jr. and Oliver Platt's Bob Zelnick (Frost's two collaborators) are outstanding, and Kevin Bacon's Nixon-worshipping Jack Brennan is the actor's best work in a long time.Morgan and Howard manage to make the viewer think constantly of another criminal President without saying or showing anything overt - they just let history, past and present, speak.I had a strange, uncomfortable thought watching "Frost/Nixon": even if some future film "humanizes" (not excuses) Bush the way Nixon comes through this one, W.
As someone who grew up during the Watergate hearings, and who reviled Nixon as the embodiment not just of corruption but of the worst kind of interventionist, even genocidal, American politics, this film gives substance to a man who, in later years (especially the GW Bush years, which make Nixon look like a political and intellectual colossus), achieved something of a place in history beyond the scandal of Watergate.But what Frost/Nixon - and in particular Langella - does is give humanity to the man.
But, he was able to capture the man very well--and, provide a bit of insight into a very enigmatic man.As for Michael Sheen, who co-starred and played David Frost, he was excellent as well--but he did not dominate the movie like Langella and really couldn't due to his character.
Making Frost any different would have been unrealistic and the viewer is naturally drawn more to the Nixon character--even if they dislike him.As for the movie, it's a film that is probably going to appeal to you more if you know a lot about the Watergate affair.
Nixon (Frank Langella) advised by Swifty Lazar (Toby Jones) accepts the challenge, a TV show will reach the people quicker and simpler than a memoirs book.It all comes to this : either Nixon shows a new shining image three years after the Watergate and his disastrous resignation, the only one in History, or Frost confronts a man to his responsibilities and forces him to admit his guilt.
No holds barred indeed, the two men bet a lot in this interview, and it's like two destinies crossing one another.The remarkable thing about Ron Howard's movie is that we all know it ended with a heartfelt confession from Nixon, one of the most memorable and defining TV moments of the 70's.
Directed by Ron Howard and starring Michael Sheen as David Frost and Frank Langella as Nixon, it tells the behind-the-scenes story of the famous series of interviews.For all many of us who lived through the Nixon presidency and Watergate, this is not the stuff of nostalgia or happy reminiscence.
It's the feeling of being an outsider, of never being good enough, that led him to some atrocious decisions.It's Langella's performance and Michael Sheen's wonderful performance as David Frost -- playboy, comedian, talk show host, and party-giver turned investigative journalist -- that anchor "Frost/Nixon." They are given great support by Kevin Bacon as Nixon's protective assistant, Jack Brennan, Sam Rockwell as James Reston, determined that Nixon pay for Watergate, as well as Oliver Platt, Matthew Mcfadyen, and Toby Jones.I found the determination of Frost as he attempted to raise financing for the interviews and get networks interested -- with no luck -- very admirable and inspiring.
Ron Howard directs "Frost/Nixon" a thrilling story with the behind the scenes of one of the most famous broadcasts ever presented in television, and that is the meeting between Former President Richard Nixon (Frank Langella) and English TV host David Frost (Michael Sheen) after the President's impeachment.
Behind these two fearless men there's a great team assisting, played by Kevin Bacon, Sam Rockwell, Matthew McFayden, Rebecca Hall, Oliver Platt and Toby Jones.Transforming a play of success into a film is a very difficult job but writer Peter Morgan adapted it perfectly, with wonderful dialogs exchange between Sheen and Langella and all the actors, balancing drama, comedy, heated discussions, and of course, using quotes of the real interview, one of the most successful events ever presented on TV, very historical.
Infused with sensational performances throughout, Howard has delivered what I think is his best film yet.Beginning with President Richard Nixon's (Frank Langella reprising his role from the play) resignation following the Watergate scandal, the movie jumps to a few years later where the ex-president has been demoted to giving talks at luncheons, and interviews for money.
From what I understand, certain liberties were taken with the facts surrounding the endlessly notorious interviews, but more often then not, Frost/Nixon is less of a political film, then it is a sword and shield bout to the death; an intense duel between these two intellectuals, and how their confidence and overconfidence sways the interviews in both their favours before the gripping final outcomeFrank Langella is sure to get an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of the infamous president, but Michael Sheen should by no means be overlooked.
The Frost interviews becomes Nixon's witness stand, and the television his courtroom.The acting in this film is some of the finest of all the Oscar contenders of 2008, probably because Sheen and Langella re-prised their roles from the Broadway and London stage-play of the same name.
400 Million People Were Waiting For the Truth.Plot: A dramatic retelling of the post-Watergate television interviews between British talk-show host David Frost and former president Richard Nixon.Frost/Nixon, directed by Ron Howard and with a gripping screenplay by Peter Morgan, and the film is based on his play, is a stunning and extremely sharp vision of the summer of 1977.
It wasn't exactly a meeting of minds, nor was it motivated by a need to get to the truth, but the set of interviews that brought disgraced President Richard Nixon into a room with David Frost, is a fascinating historical tit bit  an act of opportunism on both sides that lead to one of the most sensational disclosures in the history of television political journalism.
But Howard's superb use of different camera techniques which allow both a sense of movement but do not distract from the stunning acting performances.Whilst Frank Langella is quite rightly getting a lot of attention for his remarkable performance (he manages to humanise Nixon, a feat I would have thought impossible), do not dismiss Michael Sheen's mesmerising effort as David Frost.
Although this film is the adaptation of a stage play (by Peter Morgan) about the making of a series of television interviews in 1977 between hotshot but lightweight British interviewer David Frost and Richard Milhous Nixon, disgraced ex-President of the United States, the stage origins do not show.
In "Frost/Nixon" (adapted from Peter Morgan's play of the same name), director Ron Howard delivers a brilliant account of the infamous interview between former United States President Richard Nixon and television host David Frost.
For that same reason, however, many viewers, especially the very frequent moviegoers, are likely to find the change of pace that "Frost/Nixon" brings quite welcome.The film, based on the 1976 interviews between President Richard M.
Frank Langhella and Martin Sheen are two actors of the absolute highest caliber and here under Ron Howard's direction they triumph.For my money this is an outstanding film of the 2008 awards season - not showy or full of effects it is simply what great cinema is all about: absolutely mesmerizing and very entertaining.Given that we know how the plot goes it's the fine detailing here - with some excellent political insights - that makes this even better.Frost/Nixon is just simply devastating - for those of us who remember the events this rings true (even in all the details like the ads and the planes etc;).
With Frost/Nixon, probably one of his best films (if perhaps by default due to the nature and power of the subject matter and original play), he re-tells in docu-drama form the interview with David Frost and his most challenging "opponent", Richard M.
It may not have seemed too much like it back in the spring of 1977, but the lengthy interview between British talk show host David Frost and former president Richard Nixon from Nixon's San Clemente home base is now considered one of the defining moments where politics and the media came together for compelling and dramatic results.
Peter Morgan capitalized on the event in his play "Frost/Nixon"; and now, that play, expanded into a feature-length film by Morgan himself, has succeeded well on the big screen as well, under the aegis of director Ron Howard (BACKDRAFT; APOLLO 13).Michael Sheen and Frank Langella recreate the roles they created onstage (which was done at Howard's insistence) as, respectively, the erudite British talk show host and the brooding ex-president.
Howard's direction is as effective as it had been in APOLLO 13; and Sheen and Langella are incredible, as are supporting players like Kevin Bacon, Patty McCormack, Oliver Platt, and Sam Rockwell.In the end, I found FROST/NIXON to be an incredible piece.
In this case however, Michael Sheen and Frank Langella produce two of the best performances as real historical characters that I have ever seen on film.Langella's Nixon is brilliant - I had been concerned that he didn't look enough like him, or that he was too tall etc.
Playing the titular characters, the transition from stage to screen for Michael Sheen and Frank Langella is smooth and without a doubt, performing such intense work together for so long has benefited the film adaptation.
A strong supporting cast of Kevin Bacon, Sam Rockwell and Oliver Platt amongst others gives weight around the two leads and everybody is on top form.The decision to inter-cut after the fact reflections from those side players was a good move by Howard and it gives the whole thing more of a sense of an event - a historical one at that, and definitely adds to the cinematic feel Frost/Nixon has.
It was a little off putting the first couple of times but overall breaking up the flow of the story like this helped tell it and fittingly gives us the point of view of everybody involved as opposed to just our two prize fighters.In the end, the films exploration of the power of television in an era when a lot of people still probably didn't realize it the way Frost did, to Nixon's deflated arrogance towards the end when Frost lands his 'confession' and the close up - the one you can't hide from - showing a man full of self-loathing and that moment's potential impact on 45 million viewers, is drama at it's best.
It turns out that Ron Howard's film is the perfect film complement to the stage production as it moves to offices and locations the stage couldn't and as it gives more time to supporting roles.Most of all the close-ups are the distinguishing film contribution to this historical 1977 event in which unremarkable TV host David Frost gave former president Richard Nixon 4 interviews, the final one devoted to Watergate.
Thanks to the skilled direction of Ron Howard and the extraordinary acting of both Frank Langella and Michael Sheen, this is the best exploration of the workings and motivations of a U.S. President that I have ever seen.The story follows David Frost, a comedic television host whose career is on thin ice, as he attempts to setup a televised interview of then ex- President Richard Nixon.
"Frost/Nixon," which re-tells the story of one of the most memorable interviews in American history, plays like a cross between a boxing match and the best courtroom drama you have ever seen.
Michael Sheen as Frost and Frank Langella as Nixon-both reprising their stage roles-are very compelling as these real-life people.
Ron Howard adapts from the stage version with Peter Morgan writing the screenplay, so there's this authenticity that comes along with it, and of course the principal titular characters of Frost and Nixon played by their stage incarnations Michael Sheen and Frank Langella.This film though didn't manage to garner a theatrical release here, because distributors are probably of the opinion that nobody in Singapore would be interested to watch a dramatized piece of history involving an ex-President and a flamboyant presenter, but I suppose they had probably missed the point why this film was made, as Ron Howard had mentioned, bear some close resemblance to history repeating itself during the Bush Administration and the parallels of abuses of power.
This we see expertly delivered by the Nixon camp led by Kevin Bacon's Chief of Staff Jack Brennan, in advice such as rambling to time-waste, much to the frustration of the Frost camp, with Oliver Platt, Sam Rockwell and Rebecca Hall all providing top notch performances as real life characters.Besides the obvious political jabs during the interviews, what's interesting is to note what goes on behind the making of a high risk show, without the confirmation of revenue streams since no networks want to touch it.
You could be forgiven for having been completely unaware of the interviews between talk- show host David Frost and disgraced ex-US President Richard Nixon before the publicity blitz of this film.
It seems at first that he may just be doing his Tony Blair again, the role that made him famous in both The Deal and The Queen, but so sleight is Sheen's hand that you won't notice as the cocky smile weakens and the shifty eyes deepen that he has turned the character completely inside-out.While the film is all about Frost and Nixon, however, with a cast featuring such heavyweight character actors as Sam Rockwell and Oliver Platt, there is some great acting from the sidelines as well, and it all serves as a welcome distraction from the weight of Peter Morgan's screenplay, which is almost as self-aggrandizing as David Frost himself.
The film portrays the interviews between David Frost, a popular talk show host, and Richard Nixon, the only president ever to resign as the commander in chief.
Frost, of course (played by Michael Sheen) is the British journalist who scored a coup by being granted a series of interviews with former US President Richard Nixon (Frank Langella) and it truly did remind me of boxing.
Anyway on the movie front however.it was showed a good level of detailFrost was also well played but Frank (Nixon) takes it to a totally different level of acting in the final moments of the interview.
Frost Nixon Frank Langella Michael Sheen I must confess that ordinarily this is not a film I would have watched.
Michael Sheen is brilliant as Frost, capturing just enough of his character ( as he did with Tony Blair in 'The Queen' ) to make it believable without being distracting, where as Frank Langella's performance as Nixon is more like something from Saturday Night Live or some other comedy show.
Adapted from Peter Morgan's screenplay it does such a good of retelling of the 1977 actual interviews between British Comic and newsman the liberal and sharp David Frost(Michael Sheen) and ex president Richard Nixon(Frank Langella).