Thursday, October 8, 2009

Day off with Frost/Nixon

I took the day off and we went to the iHop for breakfast. On a school day-hee!

I also watched Frost/Nixon. I have to confess that though I know the gist of Watergate, I don't know the complete details, the names of each person involved, etc. I was kind of expecting another lesson on Watergate but it was much more interesting character study of the two main characters, British tv host David Frost and former President Richard Nixon. Obviously, there is no surprise endings so the movie relies on the performances of the two key characters and the two deliver. Michael Sheen as the shallow go-getter of a tv host who, his producer points out, just interviewed the Bee Gees, sees stars in his eyes of becoming a success in America by interviewing Nixon, is great. We see the layers of insecurity under the showman's exterior, struggling against the faith and belief of the hoped success of the project. But my tip of the cap goes to Frank Langella. When I think of Frank Langella, I think of his daunting size and his imposing voice. In the commercials for the movie, I saw him play the blustery lines of Nixon as I imagined he would. But he really brings out the other facets of a man who was easy to vilify for his actions and to dismiss that he's still human. Moments such as petting a neighbor's dog and exercising really evoked a man who bore the weight of his actions. The supporting cast was great especially Toby Jones and Sam Rockwell. I heart Sam Rockwell in pretty much anything.

My other observations: 1) I totally needed to put on the subtitles while watching this movie on DVD. Is my hearing going? The voices of everyone talking registered so low and I had the volume pretty dialed up. 2) R rating? Really? The DVD box says it was for "some language" which was frankly, not much worse than watching an episode of . It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. 3) Kevin Bacon is not aging. For reals.

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