“I’m saying that when the president does it, it’s not illegal.”
I don’t know if Frost/Nixon is more resonant post-Bush, or less resonant. Certainly there are a ton of amazing parallels between the two presidencies, and watching Nixon deconstructed in Ron Howard’s terrific film has to have a familiar look to those aware of the activities that took place in the Bush White House. However, at the same time, I think we’re all a little desensitized. As someone who was not yet born when Richard Nixon was facing impeachment hearings in the biggest political scandal of all time, I can’t imagine what a gigantic moment that was for the United States and the rest of the world. I do know that he faced impeachment, and Bush didn’t. But did Nixon really do anything worse?
The tone of the movie suggests that he did. In that he did something that was specifically illegal, and knowingly did this illegal thing and then tried to cover it up and then got busted. He resigned, rather than be impeached, but never admitted any wrongdoing at all. Then, in 1977, he sat down for a series of interviews with little-known British television host David Frost. This movie is the story of those interviews, the preparations, and the results. Frost basically had three months to prepare, but he was one of those playboy good-time party boys who never took this moment seriously enough. Or so the movie says. Only toward the end of the 12 interview sessions does Frost realize that he needs to do a little more.
And what follows is one of the great moments in television history - the dismantling of Nixon’s stonewall, and the final word on Watergate - Nixon’s admission of guilt. Frost/Nixon does a wonderful job talking up the power of television while also discussing, frankly, the limitations of the medium. It also does a wonderful job of making both David Frost and especially Richard Nixon into sympathetic yet deeply flawed characters. This is partly thanks to Ron Howard, but I think even more thanks to Frank Langella, who is magnificent as Nixon, and Michael Sheen is splendid as Frost.
The dialogue and confrontations between the two protagonists are fantastic, and tense, and really exciting. But I think Langella is at his best in his dialogue with his right-hand man, Jack Brennan (Kevin Bacon). I think the best scene in the movie is the one where Nixon is thinking about investigating Frost before the interviews, and he starts telling Brennan about some Cuban ex-CIA guys he knows who can break into Frost’s hotel room to find some information. Bacon’s face, in that scene, is incredible. The look he gives Nixon is an uncomfortable one of half-horror, half hope - hope that he’s joking. And I think that encapsulates this entire movie.
Frost/Nixon is uncomfortable. And it’s horrifying. And it’s hopeful. And it is an educational and exhilirating look at one of the most incredible media moments of all time. Watch it.
