Frost/Nixon
Guaranteed to be a hit with fans of political dramas such as the West Wing, director Ron Howard’s adaptation of Peter Morgan’s stage success has Michael Sheen and Frank Langella resurrecting their respective West End and Broadway roles.
Following the story of the 1977 series of TV interviews between David Frost and the disgraced former President Richard Nixon, Howard’s film remains true to the play, in no small part thanks to Morgan's screenplay, which perfectly captures that rare moment when TV becomes history. How much of this dramatisation is true to what happened is debatable, but it is none the less a very entertaining film.
Opening with a scene-setting montage of the final days of the presidency, we see a broken leader becoming a man hitting rock bottom following his very public fall from office. Simultaneously in Australia, talk show host Frost is experiencing his own fall from grace. Watching Nixon's televised resignation, he spots an opportunity to return to the television big time and sets about securing a series of exclusive interviews which he plans to sell to the highest bidder.
In this era of 24-hour news programs endlessly picking over the same facts, and so-called celebrities being offered millions for exclusive interviews, it's difficult to imagine the news vacuum that followed his ignominious departure from the White House. Virtually overnight, Nixon went from being one of the highest profiles to a persona non grata. Whilst the US TV networks felt they - and the American people - were owed the explanation they would have gotten had he been impeached rather than resigned, they were not prepared to pay for it. With Frost offering $2m, Nixon and his advisors (including the uber-agent Swifty Lazar played by Toby Jones, the voice of Dobby the house elf from Harry Potter) see an opportunity for the fallen titan to redeem himself and begin the process of rehabilitation, whilst making a sizable profit.
With agreement reached, the mismatch between an ex-heavyweight champion and an English lightweight begins. Written off as a playboy TV host rather than a proper journalist (including by his own production team), the early rounds predictably go the way of the ex-champion, who uses every trick of manipulation to overwhelm his challenger. Ultimately though, as all ex-champions have discovered to their cost, it is underestimating your opponent, especially one who who's on the ropes, that will be your downfall. And so it is with Nixon. Ignoring that Frost is a Cambridge graduate with a natural showman’s instinct for what makes great TV, he lets down his guard in the last round allowing Frost to deliver a decisive KO blow.
The climax has Frost flashing a Blairesque smile to camera. It is Michael Sheen after all, leaving you with the feeling that that interview, more than anything, has redefined the relationship between the media and politicians. But perhaps a bigger mistake than getting caught and carrying the can was Nixon’s error both before and after his resignation of underestimating the power of the media, something it’s hard to imagine his successors ever making.
Opening with a scene-setting montage of the final days of the presidency, we see a broken leader becoming a man hitting rock bottom following his very public fall from office. Simultaneously in Australia, talk show host Frost is experiencing his own fall from grace. Watching Nixon's televised resignation, he spots an opportunity to return to the television big time and sets about securing a series of exclusive interviews which he plans to sell to the highest bidder.
In this era of 24-hour news programs endlessly picking over the same facts, and so-called celebrities being offered millions for exclusive interviews, it's difficult to imagine the news vacuum that followed his ignominious departure from the White House. Virtually overnight, Nixon went from being one of the highest profiles to a persona non grata. Whilst the US TV networks felt they - and the American people - were owed the explanation they would have gotten had he been impeached rather than resigned, they were not prepared to pay for it. With Frost offering $2m, Nixon and his advisors (including the uber-agent Swifty Lazar played by Toby Jones, the voice of Dobby the house elf from Harry Potter) see an opportunity for the fallen titan to redeem himself and begin the process of rehabilitation, whilst making a sizable profit.
With agreement reached, the mismatch between an ex-heavyweight champion and an English lightweight begins. Written off as a playboy TV host rather than a proper journalist (including by his own production team), the early rounds predictably go the way of the ex-champion, who uses every trick of manipulation to overwhelm his challenger. Ultimately though, as all ex-champions have discovered to their cost, it is underestimating your opponent, especially one who who's on the ropes, that will be your downfall. And so it is with Nixon. Ignoring that Frost is a Cambridge graduate with a natural showman’s instinct for what makes great TV, he lets down his guard in the last round allowing Frost to deliver a decisive KO blow.
The climax has Frost flashing a Blairesque smile to camera. It is Michael Sheen after all, leaving you with the feeling that that interview, more than anything, has redefined the relationship between the media and politicians. But perhaps a bigger mistake than getting caught and carrying the can was Nixon’s error both before and after his resignation of underestimating the power of the media, something it’s hard to imagine his successors ever making.
Here Is The Writer : Martin Gallagher
Martin Gallagher has never played for West Ham or England, nor had a number one hit single, but he has worked in the City for many years (for what that's worth). A life-long Londoner, he made the migration from east to west a few years back and is still trying to get used to the absence of fried chicken takeaways and the over abdundance of coffee shops. Martin is married, has two daughters, and is also interested in travelling, football and writing. He hopes to publish his first novel 'sometime in the future'.
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