My daughter and I saw a special sneak preview of Ron Howard’s new film "Frost/Nixon" last night, followed by an in-depth conversation with Mr. Howard and Peter Travers, film critic for Rolling Stone It was a benefit for the Pelham Picture House here in Westchester County, New York, which aspires to be a new regional film center for the southern part of the county.
I did not see the play "Frost/Nixon," but as someone who lived through the "long national nightmare" of Watergate and Viet Nam – and naively thought our country would never again allow itself to be dragged into an immoral war by corrupt politicians (hey, I was 16 at the time!) – I found the movie to be compelling. Frank Langella is masterful in his portrayal of Richard Nixon, using just enough of the much-copied mannerisms and body language to convey the man’s familiar physical presence, but endowing him with subtle and nuanced emotion. Not enough to make me feel sympathy for him, exactly, but the performance certainly brought me to a new level of awareness about this deeply flawed man’s complex personality. And Michael Sheen (who was so good as Tony Blair in The Queen) is brilliant as David Frost, offering insight into the motivations behind his audacious plan to interview the disgraced former President.
After the screening Ron Howard spoke with Peter Travers and came across as earnest and thoughtful. Mr. Travers has hosted a series of these conversations with actors, directors and writers, and as always he was insightful and charming. At one point he commented on Mr. Howards’ new video in support of Barack Obama (you can see it on the website FunnyOrDie) and the audience erupted into appreciative applause. My daughter is too young to understand the pleasure of seeing Ron Howard, Andy Griffith and Henry Winkler "in character" supporting Barack Obama, but it certainly got a response out of the over 30 audience members.
"Frost/Nixon" will give political junkies a lot to sink their teeth into – after the election! Now it’s back to phonebanking....