Movie Review- "Frost/Nixon"

I was very much looking forward to seeing this film. I finally got an opportunity on Saturday. I gotta say, the film left me a bit confused. Not as to the plot or to the message, mind you. I am confused as to why it was nominated for Best Picture, while Gran Torino was snubbed.

This is not to say that "Frost/Nixon" is not a good movie. It is. It features some strong performances by the actors. In fact, these performances (specifically Frank Langella as Nixon) are probably what got the film the nomination. Actually, that's not really a fair statement. Let me explain why.

See, the Academy Awards, in addition to honoring the art of film making, serve as a good cultural barometer. In other words, it's possible to gauge the general mood of the populace by observing what the Academy chooses to honor. (Or, at least, it's possible to gauge the mood of the previous year.) This, I believe, is at the heart of the reason for the nomination.

There was, prior to the November presidential election, a tense mood in the United States. There was also a great deal of anger and anxiety. And a large portion of that anger and anxiety was assigned to the previous administration. Many, including myself) felt the administration was corrupt, and arrogant in its corruption. Many also, including myself, we upset because the administration seemed to be getting away with it. Essentially, we wanted some sort of comeuppance.

This was the way many people also felt about and during the Nixon administration. This is best demonstrated in the line from the film, "I want to give Richard Nixon the trial he never had." A good summation of the times. What I'm getting at here is that there is a sense (or was a sense) of needing a similar event from George W. Bush. I'm not so sure of the necessity for that now. After all, he had approval ratings lower than Nixon's, and gave much more incriminating testimony in our modern 24-hour news cycles. Plus, we are already seeing the results of that administration's policies both domestically (economic crisis) and internationally (America's terrible reputation in most of the world).

But I digress. The point is, you cannot stop the people from making such parallels. Let me share 1 thing which highlights this. The big, climactic line in the film is when Nixon says, "When the president does it, it's not illegal." When that line was aid, several people in the theater around me whispered, "That sounds like Bush." Take that for what it's worth.

One good thing about this movie is that it weaves in archival footage from the times. But, as I said before, without the strong performances, this probably wouldn't have garnered the Best Picture nomination. But the best word to describe this film is "effective".

The discussion factor is high. Not only for the parallels I mentioned above. Other issues mentioned include, but are not limited to the distinction between power and authority, the limits of presidential power, the use of media in all aspects of life, as well as others.

The "that guy" factor is fairly high as well.

Acting: A-
Directing: B
That Guy: B
Overall: B+