Day by day, week by week, "Frost/Nixon" appears more and more relevant. And yet, at the same time, the Trump era is making this Richard Nixon (played in the film by Frank Langella) historical drama look continually more like a sane world.
It feels particularly difficult to grasp the sheer weight of Nixon's admissions given the current U.S. political landscape. When he makes the now-famous admission that "when the president does it, that means that it is not illegal," suddenly you have to remember that this took place in the 1970s — a time where words meant something.
It's 1977, two and a half years after President Nixon resigned for his involvement in covering up his administration's involvement in a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters. As the ex-President seeks to rebuild his reputation and targets a return to the public eye, he turns to David Frost (Michael Sheen), a British talk show host performing a show in both England and Australia.
Frost is the polar opposite to Nixon: he's a showman, a man who loves being in front of a camera just as much as the audience loves having him there. But he's suddenly thrust into a scenario where he cannot simply be just that, when he secures a series of exclusive interviews with Nixon and aims to pry out an apology for the Watergate scandal.
Everything about this film is overexaggerated. If you want something that has pinpoint historical accuracy, you may as well just watch Frost's actual interviews. But writer Peter Morgan and director Ron Howard understand the impact of Nixon's words. They take Nixon's confessions and give them the Hollywood treatment, dialling the tone up and the shock factor along with it.
Langella is key to this. His performance as Nixon is wonderful. Langella goes over-the-top, making his voice harder to understand and losing his cool in key moments. It resembles, but does not mimic, Nixon. But it is this quality that makes it succeed so much, with every moment given more dramatic emphasis.
Nixon once agreed with a suggestion that the American public didn't feel like they knew him. Here, Langella gives us a portrayal that adds more depth to the politician. He is a figure of loneliness, a man who is still slick enough to talk an opponent — as Nixon literally calls Frost — in circles while remaining sympathetic. It truly is a genius display of acting.
Sheen is a joy to watch as Frost. In the opening minutes, he'ss doing comedy bits and signing autographs at airports, but generally living up to a suggestion that he is "without any discernible quality". His long-time producer, John Birt (Matthew Macfadyen), doesn't understand why Frost is doing the interviews nor does he think that they are a good idea, but Sheen makes it feel convincing.
Frost's battle with Nixon brings out the best of both actors. As Langella slips out of his character's composed stature, Sheen begins to find a more sophisticated side to Frost. It's an incredibly nuanced performance, striking the right balance between being the performer and being the level-headed interviewer.
If he were still alive today, would David Frost succeed with Donald Trump? It seems unlikely. But Frost's contribution to the United States was nonetheless huge, and "Frost/Nixon" is a brilliant tale of the man who got the biggest scoop of the century.
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