Frost/Nixon

Directed by Ron Howard, the tale of the battle of wits between a talk show host David Frost (Michael Sheen) and the impeached President Richard M Nixon (Frank Langella) is an engaging watch. It will remind you of the Clooney directed Good Night Good Luck which had a tale of the TV host taking on the paranoid Senator McCarthy. It is unfair to the compare the two movies as both are good in their own right. Both are stories based on political upheavals in US history.

Frost/Nixon looks at the era which created a dubious milestone in US Political history. After Richard Nixon resigns his presidency over his involvement in the Watergate scandal, entertainer and talk show host David Frost, impressed by the huge TV audience that followed the issue worldwide wants to have an interview with the president and get to him to offer something of an apology and confess. With doubts on the business viability of such a telecast as well as the fact that Nixon is a shrewd statesman who has handled many a debate with ease, makes it an uphill task fro Frost. He has author James Reston Jr (Sam Rockwell), Political journalist bob Zelnick (Oliver Platt) in his corner.

The movie is a must watch because it gives you an insight into the American people and into the minds of one of the most controversial president's in US political history. As it says at the end of the movie, the one contribution of this scandal is that any political scandal thereafter would always have a 'gate' suffix. The movie is fast paced for a political drama and has excellent performances by Frank Langella and Michael Sheen. Kevin Bacon also appears in a supporting role.

Is it worth watching ? Yes. Definitely.