In August 1974, disgraced president Richard Nixon (Frank Langella) resigned to avoid impeachment, becoming the only president ever to do so. Three years later, British talk show host David Frost (Michael Sheen) proposed a series of interviews, which Nixon reluctantly agreed to. Frost's producers want to get a public apology out of Nixon, while the ex-president's loyalists want to rebuild his reputation, and it soon turns into a heated battle of wit
s.Director Ron Howard and screenwriter Peter Morgan adapt the play so well that you'd never know it originated onstage. It stays believable and interesting all the way through, and never seems long or boring, something for the future political dramas to follow. It sticks to the facts from beginning to end, and shows no signs of bias or prejudice.
Perhaps Langella wasn't the best choice for the role of Nixon (he doesn't look a thing like him), but at least he turns in a phenomenal performance. By contrast, Sheen was the perfect choice for Frost.
But the film's biggest highlight is the portrayal of the interviews. I've seen the actual interviews, and there were points during the interviews in the movie where I couldn't tell the difference between them, which shows the film's loyalty to the facts. You have to have seen the interviews to truly appreciate, "Frost/Nixon."
