Release Date:
12/12/2008
Directed by: Ron Howard
The Skinny: This is a dramatization of the events behind the real-life late-'70s TV showdown between frothy British television personality David Frost (Michael Sheen) and disgraced former U.S. President Richard Nixon (Frank Langella).
The Good: Both Sheen and Langella played these roles on stage (the movie is an adaptation of the play), and the work honing their respective characters shows. Langella, especially, takes the movie by the throat and never lets go. Howard does a good job fleshing out the behind-the-scenes drama, and the showdown between Frost and Nixon plays out like some kind of Rocky movie with rapid words instead of rapid punches.
The Bad: Despite Howard's efforts (which are mostly successful), parts of the movie still feel like a stageplay, with characters saying a lot of things instead of things actually happening onscreen. But the inherent tension of the overall set-up smoothes a lot of this over.
Speak the Truthiness: Back in the '70s, no one expected Frost—a former comedian and lightweight talk show host—to be the man who would cut to the heart of the Nixon scandal. Sigh. So there was a time before Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert…
Theater, DVD, or TNT in Five Years? Frost/Nixon is being released kind of sporadically, so tracking it down in theaters may be tough. To be honest, as good as it is, it won't lose impact on DVD.
The Skinny: This is a dramatization of the events behind the real-life late-'70s TV showdown between frothy British television personality David Frost (Michael Sheen) and disgraced former U.S. President Richard Nixon (Frank Langella).
The Good: Both Sheen and Langella played these roles on stage (the movie is an adaptation of the play), and the work honing their respective characters shows. Langella, especially, takes the movie by the throat and never lets go. Howard does a good job fleshing out the behind-the-scenes drama, and the showdown between Frost and Nixon plays out like some kind of Rocky movie with rapid words instead of rapid punches.
The Bad: Despite Howard's efforts (which are mostly successful), parts of the movie still feel like a stageplay, with characters saying a lot of things instead of things actually happening onscreen. But the inherent tension of the overall set-up smoothes a lot of this over.
Speak the Truthiness: Back in the '70s, no one expected Frost—a former comedian and lightweight talk show host—to be the man who would cut to the heart of the Nixon scandal. Sigh. So there was a time before Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert…
Theater, DVD, or TNT in Five Years? Frost/Nixon is being released kind of sporadically, so tracking it down in theaters may be tough. To be honest, as good as it is, it won't lose impact on DVD.