Monday's Movie-Frost/Nixon

A Novel Menagerie asks us to post about a movie that you watched the week before. We usually watch quite a few movies over the weekend and it is sometimes difficult to only discuss one.

The movie that I found very interesting this weekend was Frost/Nixon.

Here are some of the details from the film:

Genre: Drama

Starring: Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Sam Rockwell

Runtime: 2 hr, 2 mn.

MPAA Rating: R

Here is a summary of the movie from the MSN Movie website:

Hollywood heavyweight Ron Howard adapts playwright Peter Morgan's West End hit for the silver screen with this feature focusing on the 1977 television interviews between journalist David Frost (Michael Sheen) and former president Richard Nixon (Frank Langella). At the time Nixon sat down with Frost to discuss the sordid details that ultimately derailed his presidency, it had been three years since the former commander in chief had been forced out of office. The Watergate scandal was still fresh in everyone's minds, and Nixon had remained notoriously tight-lipped until he agreed to sit down with Frost. Nixon was certain that he could hold his own opposite the up-and-coming British broadcaster, and even Frost's own people weren't quite sure their boss was ready for such a high-profile interview. When the interview ultimately got under way and each man eschewed the typical posturing in favor of the simple truth, fans and critics on both sides were stunned by what they witnessed. Instead of Nixon stonewalling the interviewer as expected, or Frost lobbing softballs as the truth-seekers feared, what emerged was an unguardedly honest exchange between a man who had lost everything and another with everything to gain. In this film, viewers are treated to not only a recreation of that landmark interview, but a behind-the-scenes look at the power struggles that led up to it as well. Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, and Brian Grazer team to produce a film adapted for the screen by original play author Morgan (The Queen and The Last King of Scotland). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

My Movie Thoughts:

This was such an interesting movie that portrayed a part of our U.S. history that I would have been too young to remember. I'm sure most Americans have heard of the Watergate scandal that President Nixon was involved with, and this movie is about the interview that took place after that scandal. Not only is the movie about the interview, but also the important events that led up to that moment in history. David Frost was an Australian journalist and many of his peers did not think that he would be diplomatic enough to be able to handle an interview with Nixon. He spent months before the interview looking for financial backers to help cover the cost of Nixon's hefty fee, but it seemed that very few were willing to invest in his journalism abilities. This was a movie well worth watching, and if you haven't heard of this interview, as I haven't, I would highly suggest watching this. I'm going to rate this 4 out of 5 bags of popcorn.