Being a stage adaptation, as always, I was fearful of the presentation of the story in cinematic form, but it was carried beautifully. Whether the due respect goes to the relatively small cast or to director Ron Howard, remains a toss-up in my mind, but regardless of which way the credit should go, a worthy film was produced. Reminiscent of Good Night and Good Luck, and even back to Network, Frost/Nixon pulled into question the motives, morals, and back stories of all parties involved. On several occasions I was impressed with the lighting, and though I'm typically not a fan of handheld-style films, it served this film well, bringing a sense of realism to the characters and plot. The introduction to this film ran perfectly, reminding/informing those of us who might not have the best recollection/knowledge of the Nixon era. I would have loved to have seen a short clip of primary documents, but I guess I can always look at those later. Instead, throughout the film there were intercut scripted on-the-street interviews with the characters (portrayed by the Hollywood actors) involved in the Frost/Nixon broadcast, which provided after the fact information, but as the film progressed, served as an unnecessary narrator. I was much more intrigued by the interaction between Frost and Nixon (as the title would imply), rather than his colleagues' interpretation of what occurred. And though I was at times split between seeing Frost or Nixon as the crux of this film, I'm guessing that Ron Howard was after an equal split, dictating the intertwining of their lives for that brief time. I enjoyed this film and was pleasantly surprised.
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1/7/2010
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