Frost/Nixon

Cinderella Man, A Beautiful Mind, Ransom, Apollo 13, Backdraft, Parenthood, Cocoon

Splash

Researching this article, I was surprised to find that Langella also played Nixon on Broadway as well as in the initial London engagement. To say he has perfected the role is an understatement. I am largely unfamiliar with Nixon’s mannerisms and so I can’t comment on Langella’s impersonation, but I do know that Nixon was a smart politician who rose from a modest financial upbringing and overcame the loss of the 1960 presidential election to John F. Kennedy to become the 37th President of the United States in 1968. Langella portrays him as a man proud of his accomplishments and begrudgingly resigned to the damage he has done to his legacy. He reveals a sharp sense of humour, in one scene drolly proposing to call some CIA trained Cubans he knows to help track Frost and his team of researchers, and a touching sense of regret over betraying the trust of the American people. Throughout the film, we get the sense that Nixon will confess to his crime, and when he does, Langella helps the audience to sympathize with Nixon as he comes to the slow realization that his acts betrayed the sacred trust Americans hold for the president of their nation.

Oliver Platt, Kevin Bacon, and Sam Rockwell, one of the few Hollywood actors who does not do enough mainstream work, all deliver in supporting roles. Michael Sheen, who played Tony Blair in The Queen, gives a strong performance as Frost, in part because his character needs to show discomfort around Nixon and Langella’s performance is so polished that Sheen must have found it flustering to equal Langella’s intensity. Last and never least, the incomparable Clint Howard, Ron’s younger brother, and possibly the most successful bit player in movie history, makes an appearance as well. If you seek a well told story, with sharp dialogue, great acting, and interesting subject matter, Frost Nixon is sure to please.