Frost/Nixon (2008)

dir. Ron Howard
writ. Peter Morgan (play and screenplay)
feat. Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Sam Rockwell, Kevin Bacon, Matthew Macfadyen, Oliver Platt, Rebecca Hall

Frost/Nixon is a remarkable piece of affable entertainment so long as one doesn't think too hard. Both Sheen as Frost and Langella as Nixon create compelling characters, different yet equally attractive, arousing the viewer's curiosity even when frustrating one's hopes. And much of the movie is frustrating, with Frost seemingly ineffectual, perhaps disinterested in the project on some deeper level, and Nixon cleverly evasive, offering no meat in his interview responses. Throwing in some phony "modern-day" interview segments for framing, and adding a lovely Rebecca Hall to show off 70s fashion doesn't contribute to the slow pace or the lack of progress of the story.

However, a late-game series of scenes, including a gripping (yet sadly fictional) late night phone call by a drunken Nixon to Frost and the subsequent confession drawn out in the interview, help to turn the film around, bringing life and a sense of competition to the interaction, earning the picture's title and leaving the viewer far more satisfied than seemed possible a half hour earlier. Nevertheless, it's a bit of trickery, this "leaving them feeling good" approach, and it doesn't justify the long wait and the arbitrary characters, particularly if your best scene in a kind of biopic is pure fiction. While it may make for decent entertainment, one must wonder why bother with a feature dramatization that offers no notable insight when the meaningful substance can be found in the actual Frost-Nixon interviews, all readily available on DVD.