We haven’t been ot the cinema for ages, so a free evening on Friday was a chance to use some free tickets we’d acquired. After a bit of debate and looking up times we headed to Cineworld to see Frost-Nixon.
First off, the seats in Cineworld are rubbish and uncomfortable -must make a mental note to use the Empire instead.
As we took our uncomfortable seat we didn’t really know what to expect of the film either. Sal’s much better at the history side of things than I am but we’re both a bit vague on Watergate and the Nixon (and post-Nixon) era. So we were hoping the film was self explanatory.
Which it was! A fairly intense introduction gave you an idea of the events that lead up to Nixon’s resignation and you were set to be introduced to Frost.
I’m not sure what genre of film this was meant to be. It’s part documentary, mostly drama, but you wonder how much is historical and how much has been made up to make it a good story. The factual “whatever happened to…” bits at the end of the suggest it leans more towards fact than fiction, but it’s such a dramatic story that you are left wondering.
But given that I thought the film was excellent. The 2 hours flew by and I was on the edge of my seat at times, and I was taken on a roller coaster of emotions as Frost’s plans, and the big interview, teeter on the edge.
It was well acted and scripted, though I felt there were some cheesy editorial moments. There are some nice little touches that hold the film together – thankfully these are obvious enough for a dunce like me to spot and engage with – though they were possibly a little too obvious.
The other little niggle was that I recognised some of the actors but really couldn’t place them. I spent most of the film asking myself “What the heck has that guy been in?”
I should probably try and draw some moral point from the story. But I can’t. The characters are fantastic and the portrayal of Nixon was particularly fascinating. I was left wondering if he was good or bad. Clever, or too clever. Had his power corrupted him beyond redemption? Or did the interview change him for the better?
Well worth seeing!