Frost/Nixon

Frost/Nixon is the first film I have seen since the Oscar nominations have come out. In truth, it was a solid movie - is it worthy of best picture of the year? I'm leaning towards not so much however Frank Langella's portrayal of Nixon is certainly worthy of the best actor nom. Essentially the film dramatizes the series of taped interviews Richard Nixon had with David Frost in the summer of 1977, 3 years following the former president's resignation from office.

Overall, I liked the film however I feel it lacked some much needed punch and pizazz. There wasn't anything extraordinary about it at all. I got a little bored, more than once. I yearned to be more engaged with the complicated relationship between these two men and the verbal chess battle before them. It could be that I'm simply too young to appreciate the gravity of what these interviews meant to so many. It's possible that with a closer connection to that history, I wouldn't need additional exposition. I mean I wasn't even born when they were being taped! I have no memory of that era. Seriously my knowledge of Nixon extends little beyond high school US History and the phrase "I'm not a crook". While I can certainly read history books on Nixon - film can bring the man to life in a way no other medium can. Sadly for me, Frost/Nixon just did an okay job at exploiting the big screen's capabilities to allow for immersive storytelling. Nothing knocked my socks off or surprised me. The performances overall were incredibly solid but nothing terribly remarkable (with the exception of Langella). In fact nothing even really compelled me to even talk about this movie afterward. Where was the historical context? The first 5 minutes of the movie? That was nothing! Take us back into the white house. Take us through what made the "monster". Explain it to those of us who weren't there. I can only appreciate Nixon's emotional breakdown if I understand where and why it was so impossible to obtain in the first place. C'mon Ron Howard. The trailers before this movie were more engaging. Sure, it was a well done flick but besides Langella's performance it will be quickly forgotten.