Review: Frost/Nixon (2008)

Title: Frost/Nixon
Year: 2008
Starring: Michael Sheen, Frank Langella
Genre: Drama, Docudrama
MPAA: R for some language
Kids-In-Mind.com: 4.4.5
My Rating: 8.7
IMDb Rating: 8.0

Synopsis: Based on a true story, British TV Presenter David Frost (Sheen) purchases the rights to the first post-presidential interview of disgraced President Richard Nixon (Langella). No network would buy the rights to the interview, which was taken seriously by few given Frost's status as a sort of British Johnny Carson. Frost's entire career and reputation is on the line in the interview, as is Nixon's; a war of words is waged in the four-day interview, with Frost failing miserably to get Nixon to admit to wrongdoing during the first three days. The night before the final day, a drunken Nixon exchanges a heartfelt phone call with Frost in which he expresses his view that though both need to win the interview to stay relevant, only one can win. This prompts Frost to do more rigorous research concerning Nixon than he had in the past, finding new evidence to trap Nixon in a lie. Frost wins the interview and Nixon essentially recedes into exile.

My take: My love for history and politics drew me to this film. I expected more in the way of history, but the film overall was quite good. Langella's performance was quite convincing.

Concerning the rating: This eked its way into earning a rounded 9 on IMDb and becomes the twentieth film to receive from me a 9 or higher rounded. It now is in a tie for seventeenth place on my list of top movies, tying with Mel Gibson's Braveheart (1995) with a rating of 8.7.

In my queue: Capote (2005), Silence of the Lambs (1991)

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