Great, superb, outstanding acting. I know mimicry is different from acting, but combining both together is pretty impressive.
I'm stunned that the same actor, Michael Sheen, who lulled me into believing he was Tony Blair got me to believe he was swinging, talk show host, David Frost.
And Frank Langella is outstanding as Nixon. I thought that Anthony Hopkins did a good job, but in comparison he was obscenely over the top. Langella is subtle, reserved, aged, and he still makes the gestures and the face work.
The downfall of this film is that no one is likable. Frost comes together for the final act and Nixon breaks his steely surface, but so what? I don't care for anyone. Sheen's performance got a little repetitive, using shifty eyes and a fake smile to show the cracks in Frost's confidence. And he over does it when he shows how bored or incompetent he is while interviewing Nixon. And who is his girlfriend? She feels like a real person, but I know nothing about her.
The researchers, played by Sam Rockwell and Oliver Platt, are great! Sam Rockwell's character hates Nixon and has written four books on his crooked administration. I did feel joy when he gets the admission of guilt he desired from Nixon. And I'm so glad that there was a character who served the purpose of explaining all of the atrocities of the administration. Oliver Platt is kinda always the same guy, but I like him so much that I don't mind. Matthew MacFadyen appears as the level headed producer of this show that almost wasn't, and his reaction to their success is delightful.
All in all, I felt like Ron Howard did a good job. There were definitely many changes made in adapting the play to the screen that worked very well. It must be pretty challenging making two people talking to each other visually interesting. I particularly found the compositions including both the actual person and the monitor showing the video feed of their face to create a splitting of attention that made me question what I wanted to watch. Did I want to see the real face or did I want to see what the audience at home would have watched?
I have to say that the last 8 years were brought to mind several times, particularly when Nixon defined presidential powers and the legality of any action taken by the president. If the president can do anything and be above the law, then he or she is a temporary king or queen. And if you can use signing statements that gut laws or add new parts in, like our current president, the transformation from democratic leader to despot is nearly complete. Ack! When will we learn? Will it change on January 20th? Fingers crossed.
