David Frost, a British television personality, was lucky enough to get an interview with the greatest political criminal in United States History, Richard M. Nixon. Unfortunately for viewers the dramatization of their meeting, won’t make moviegoers that lucky. Critics and film festivals around the world have heralded the film, however I felt it left much to be desired.

 

The film itself starts out much to slow. Simple introductions are given to the audience of both Mr. Frost and Mr. Nixon, and then it slides into a game of cat and mouse, bidding on the services of the Ex-President. Nixon’s people try to get as much out of everyone who would like an interview from him as possible, while Frost, hoping to reinvigorate his career, bids wildly, having to pay mostly from his own pocket, for a crack at doing what American citizen had longed to get from Nixon, a confession.

 

The series of interviews between the two commences. This is where the film gets quite dull. Frost proves that he wasn’t quite prepared to handle a politician of this magnitude, and Nixon proves that he is a seasoned veteran able to deflect any and all questions to play right into his hands. It isn’t until the end of the film where things really heat up and the relationship becomes tense, but by this point it is to late to redeem itself.

 

The direction and cinematography are quite good. Some of the shots are brilliant, but the script of the film moves these shots poorly and allows them to be overlooked. The acting is handled well. Frank Langella did an exceptional and quite stunning job at portraying the Ex-President. His Oscar nomination, while not a stretch, certainly didn’t beat out other performances that should have been in contention, but the blame for that I would give to what he had to work with.

 

It is disappointing that we don’t get much in the way of the back-story on Frost. In many ways we are given much more information on Nixon, information that at least myself, and the others I was with already knew, which made it drag into a boring and unnecessary history lesson. It would have been advantageous to spend more time with Frost, since he is a character that people know far less about. Instead by the end of the film it felt like a futile attempt at making you feel sorry, or at least sympathetic, with one of the greatest monsters in American political history.

 

In the end I think one thing can be learned. If you have a high profile story that is well known to many, and have Ron Howard as a director, you will be able to steal a best picture nomination when there was others probably more deserving. Overall 2 stars out of 4.