I like Ron Howard’s movies. Deemed a semi-light weight by hard-core Hollywood types I really enjoy his direction. In close ups, in Frost/Nixon, he must use lenses designed to photograph flowers. Close, close, close. His use of time, wasted some might say, is immensely powerful. During the last forty minutes, and the most dramatic, Howard allows Langella all the time necessary. It is during this moment that Nixon comes to grip with the destruction he has caused…….the moral chaos he inflicted on his country and that he had shattered the trust of his countrymen. And during this time when the theater had, maybe, 100 people in it, you could hear your heart beat. Spellbinding.
The movie is worth the hype. Frank Langella is a formidable Nixon and Michael Sheen does a very good job as Frost.
If you lived through the time then you will want to reacquaint yourself with events. If not yet born you should go in an attempt to discern what we experienced. A turbulent time with no winners. Especially Nixon, who was certainly the loneliest man on the planet.
