First FROST/NIXON Film Review: Variety

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 10/15/08 at 4:55pm

'...The interview excerpts are obviously the real thing, and have been staged with great attention to how they actually looked. Where the script really shines is in the incidental backstage conversation, especially how Nixon smalltalks Frost and catches him off-guard with remarks about the host's presumed sex life and habits. These private exchanges culminate in the work's most compelling sequence, in which an inebriated Nixon, prior to the final interview, phones Frost with a late-night ramble stressing their perceived similarities as fellows from modest circumstances looked down upon by "the snobs." "We still feel like the little man. The loser they told us we were," the one-time commander-in-chief insinuates, just as he promises that the final session will be "no holds barred."

By these final scenes, Langella has all but disappeared so as to deliver Nixon himself, leading to a melancholy ending defined, as predicted, by the triumph of one man and the virtual vanquishing of the other.

Playing real-life participants, some better known than others, supporting players are uniformly effective. A host of locations, including the very suite at the Beverly Hilton where Frost stayed, heighten the verisimilitude, although production designer Michael Corenblith, his staff and costume designer Daniel Orlandi have advisedly soft-pedaled the period mid-70s accoutrements so as not to distract too much from serious matters at hand. Hans Zimmer's background score provides some extra zing, while the R rating, earned no doubt by a number of vulgarities, is unfortunate, as it will further limit the number of younger people who might see the film.'

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117938715.html?categoryid=3266&cs=1

[B3TA07]

Posted: 10/15/08 at 5:18pm

I can't tell if it's a positive review or not.

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 10/15/08 at 5:22pm

It sounds positive to me.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 10/15/08 at 5:25pm

Yeah, sounds pretty positive.

[wickedfan]

Posted: 10/15/08 at 6:30pm

That is a very positive review. If the rest of the reviews are like this (and some even better) then Frost/Nixon should come through as a main contender for a Best Picture nomination.

[#1Elphie]

Posted: 10/15/08 at 6:47pm

I hope and think that it will continue to get positive reviews. I saw a screening almost a year ago and loved it; I thought it was very well done and was particularly impressed with Langella's performance. I definitely see Oscar nominations as a real possibility.