Frost/Nixon was nominated for a slew of awards. It's a solid picture: Good acting, excellent writing and a compelling true story as its base. The filmmakers made an excellent choice in sparing us the typical true story format. It's not narrated in hindsight by a single character. It's also not single character POV. There are mock-documentary style interviews with all the key players mixed in with the scenes of action.
The editing and direction creats a quick moving tempo and the feeling of mounting tension is so good that you'll forget that you already know how it ends. The viewer feels all the antici... pation of the final interview.
I'm not usually a big fan of recent American history films. Good Night and Good Luck and Capote come to mind as movies I truly wanted to like. I tried so hard to make it through them and while I fully appreciated their storytelling and acting, I was rather bored.
Frost/Nixon suceeds much in the way that Apollo 13 did. There's a chemistry and electricity built into every aspect of the film: the score, the acting, the dialogue, the cinematography. It's palpable and keeps me engaged and even on the edge of my seat. That's what makes or breaks a film: It's ability to keep you on the edge of your seat even if you know how the story plays out.
Like a good book, a good film's story should feel new and enjoyable no matter how many times you've seen it.
Other elements that make this movie great: An actor playing Nixon without a silly fake rubber nose. Kevin Bacon as a character so similar to the one he plays in A Few Good Men that you'll want to shout at him "You're a lousy fucking softball player, Jack!". Grown men having conversations about shoes. Delicious set dressing and costumes.
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