(The first review of four movies that I saw at the AMC Best Picture Showcase)

I am going to start my reviews of the four Oscar nominated Best Picture films I saw in the reverse order of how I watched them. Frost/Nixon was the last film of the day and in my opinion, the BEST film of the day. Yes, that’s right, you heard it here first (probably the only place you’ll hear it), I truly believe that Frost/Nixon was the Best Picture.

I didn’t have any expectations going into this film. I generally knew about the plot from trailers and trade releases, but didn’t care too much about it to really invest any research time into it. I knew it was going to be political, historical, and probably a movie my parents would love to see. On the whole, I typically enjoy Ron Howard’s films (The Da Vinci Code excluded), so I thought I would at least enjoy the movie aspect of it, maybe liking it based on his name alone. To me, I could have left after Slumdog Millionaire and would have been fine. Frost/Nixon was, at best, a Netflix rental before I saw it.

I don’t know if it was the lack of expectations or any interest at all, but I came away from the film totally loving it! I was so keyed in onto the whole story and was finding myself really caring about the entire process of David Frost landing the historic interview with Nixon and all of the “constituents” that were brought in to research both sides of the interview, and the struggles that Frost went through to conduct the interview with integrity and respect for Nixon, and Nixon’s own struggles with being truthful and facing up to Watergate and what that changes about him as a man and as a former President, etc. There was so much about the film that I bought into, I let go 100% and was glued to the screen.

One of highlights for me was watching David Frost’s character and his willingness to put his life and career on the line to interview one of the most, if not the most, controversial Presidents of our time. And he did so very innocently, very sweetly. He wasn’t a hard-nosed journalist looking to really throw Nixon up against the wall (though his research assistants were) and beat a confession out of him, he truly and sincerely saw the opportunity to interview Nixon as a way to allow Nixon to share his side of the story and possibly use the interview as a spring board to land himself a talk show gig in the States. I know he wasn’t an angel and only had the best intentions, but I loved how his character legitimately had to fight to retain any investigative or conversational integrity with so many of his “research assistants” and friends back in Australia wanting him to boil Nixon in front of the cameras.

Michael Sheen did a fantastic job of playing Frost. I didn’t know anything about Frost coming into the film and I can’t say I know much now, but I do know that he wasn’t a monster looking for an ego boost. He genuinely cared about Nixon and he respected the power that he had as a former President, so much so that he would probably just love to sit down and have a beer with Nixon and talk about life rather than trying to conduct a serious interview. What’s ironic to me is that going into the movie I knew about as much of Frost (nothing) as I did about Sheen (nothing), and yet, when the film ended, I really felt a connection with both of them.

What more can I say about the job that Frank Langella did playing Nixon that hasn’t already been said? He was amazing. I have to be honest and say that Nixon is one of the President’s that I can’t really visually imagine, nor can I pick out his famous phrases, the way he talked, or even how he sounded. But, that doesn’t matter, Langella pulled Nixon off superbly! And in my opinion, I was OK with either Sean Penn winning for Milk or Langella winning, but it HAD to be either of them. I thought it was more of a feat to portray an obscure and odd and controversial President than a flamboyant and outspoken homosexual city supervisor, but I am not on the Academy and it wasn’t my decision. Either way, it was magic!

The supporting characters on Frost’s side were sensational, which were played by Sam Rockwell, as the anti-Nixon author James Reston, Jr., Oliver Platt as Bob Zelnick, a veteran investigative reporter who is generally genial in nature, and Matthew Macfayden as John Birt, a friend and producer of Frost. They were hired on to help Frost with all of the research that had to go into the interview so that Frost would be well prepared. I really loved the intensity that Platt and Rockwell brought to their roles in helping “give Nixon the trial he never had” contrasted with Macfayden’s more gentle approach of reassuring them that Frost has it all under control. Rockwell, in my opinion, really pulled his part off well. He’s a loose cannon anyways, so it makes sense that he would play such a crazy character.

One scene in particular stood out to me the most: it took place late at night, the night before the last interview with Frost, and Nixon phoned Frost a little tipsy and went on this crazy, beautiful, bitter rant about the “kids” in his life that look down upon him because of his riches and wealth and how their judgments weigh heavily upon him. It was so emotional and intense, and all Frost could do was just listen with his mouth wide open, totally bewildered at the 37th President of the United States yelling viciously about his childhood and past hurt…I leaned over to Neil and whispered, “He may have just won himself the Best Actor right there.”

I know it’s pretty crazy that Blockbuster Dan has chosen an intelligent, interesting, more story-driven, film as my Best Picture winner, but it truly was the Best out of all of them. (not counting The Reader which I did not see) What I think the movie has done is create an interest in me about the subject matter, and enough of an interest to go look up more about it on the Internet. No other movie has caused that in me. It made me care.

Content Warning: Rated R for some language. Nixon says the F word and there are a few other swear words throughout, mostly from Sam Rockwell’s character, but it’s not a distraction from the film.

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