Former President vs. British Journalist
Frost/Nixon, released in 2008, is one of the most interesting historical films to date. Based on a famous play, filmmaker Ron Howard takes a specific event from 1970s and turns it into a box office smash. Frost/Nixon focuses around a series of interviews conducted by British talk show host David Frost with former United States president Richard Nixon.
With Michael Sheen as David Frost and Frank Langella as Richard Nixon, The movie draws viewers into the interesting background story of these intriguing interviews. It shows how Frost got the idea of the interviews after learning about the 400 million viewers fro Nixon’s resignation speech.
The interviews are the center of the movie, and therefore are portrayed during real time. Although Nixon’s post-presidential chief of staff, played by Kevin Bacon, is weary of the interviews, Nixon agrees to do them for a large monetary gain. This makes the interviews controversial, later in the film, as well as develops some great plots.
Frost hires investigators, played by Actors Sam Rockwell and Oliver Platt, to dig deeper into Nixon’s past, focused mostly on the Watergate scandal that ended his presidency. It is here that the film explores some interesting subplot themes. It also allows the viewers with minimal Watergate knowledge to gain a broader understanding.
The documentary style portions show the reactions of the focal players to the interviews. This serves as a way of interjecting the emotions of people to this incredible event. Howard does all he can in order to make this film exciting. Considering the subject matter, he succeeds in doing so with the highest of praise. Frost/Nixon is sure to keep you entertained whether you are a student of history, or just enjoy a good historical drama.
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