As much as I love to hate Ron Howard , I watched Frost/Nixon tonight and must admit I found it compelling.
The story was marvelously told and moved through difficult territory with surprising efficiency--with the glaring exception being the scene in which Richard Nixon shouted at David Frost over the phone, breaking down the similarities between both men, pumping up his adversary like a particularly inspiring coach.
Whose side is he on again?
The fact that later in the movie Nixon does not remember the phone call seems convenient. His arrogance and venomous bullying are so hard-wired that they escape even his own consciousness--I get it. It seems a ham-handed way to psyche the audience up for a heartwarming "good triumphs over evil" finish that at this point in the movie seems well-undeserved.
But what do I know? Maybe Mr. Howard got his audience right:
I would rather just see reality.
"We'd better see him sweat it out now, Marjorie; we'd better see a lot of shots of him doing his homework and being exhausted if this is going to turn out all right and not make me displeased with my experience at the cinema this evening..."
Also worth noting is that Kevin Bacon appears to be a fourteen year old boy wearing his father's suit in this movie--was that somehow an asset to his role? Or was it merely an innocent mistake that Mr. Howard will regret for the rest of his existence?
I'd love to ask him that hard question on camera. And make him sweat!
All that aside, however, I thought the boxing-match structure to the story was elegantly appropriate and a great pacing device for what could easily have been a sluggish story. An opening befitting a consummate professional.
I like it like my asshole friend likes his meat--well done.
_
2 comments:
'Frost/Nixon' suprised me.
It was virtually the same reaction I had to 'The Queen,' which brings a little one-trick pony quality into the mix, but overall, it's a skillfully executed character study that really didn't feel forced in the way stage-cum-cinema often does (I'm talking to you, 'Revolutionary Road').
I thought it was subtle; there are some very fine, even tender, moments between Nixon and his "opponent" that were so casually portrayed (the shoes thing, the lusting thing), it made me sit up and pay attention to a movie I had already mentally relegated to a sucked-off version of 'Good Nigght, and Good Luck.' There's small recognitions of heavy shit; growing old and resignation (literally), the loneliness and exuberance of being "special," the time wasted on things of no importance. Plus, Mr.Frank Langella's jowls. Hubba hubba.
I wanted the girl to be Charlotte Gainsbourg, and I want her wardrobe.
Sam Rockwell continues to be underutilized.
You're being too hard on Ron Howard. One word: 'Willow.'
Last thing: You really get a sense of the "double" factor between Frost and Nixon in a way that could have taught Christopher Nolan a much needed lesson. Mr. Nolan felt compelled to beat his audience into 152 minutes of heavy-handed reiteration of the Batman/Joker moral tightrope, further rammed down our throats with the whole Harvey Dent routine, and I just cannot jizz all over The Dark Knight the way everyone else seems to because it was far too long, treated the audience like a bunch of retarded fuck-offs who need their plot devices forced through a feeding tube, and Christian Bale is a robot.
Heath Ledger's performance was great. Oscar-worthy? No. Let's not give Oscars to dead actors simply because they're dead. James Franco got ripped the fuck off.
I agree wholeheartedly. The movie surprised me, as well.
Oddly, I had the same feeling about Charlotte Gainsbourg; I kept trying to tell if it was her or not, as if there was some trick of light or camera angle that was deceiving me.
'Dark Knight?' Ditto. That movie is a study in how to make your hand so heavy it drags along the fucking ground as you walk, like a forty-pound cannonball.
Heath Ledger's performance was great and if he doesn't win the Oscar, I think the Kodak Theater will be ripped apart piece by piece (the Hollywood & Highland mall will never be the same without it! Please don't let that happen); do I agree with the SAG mob? I think so...although it's hard to be objective in the situation; it is too loaded by tragic circumstance, and too tainted by the direction of the movie as a whole.
James Franco for President!
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