Synopsis
For three years after being forced from office, Nixon remained silent. But in summer 1977, the steely, cunning former commander-in-chief agreed to sit for one all-inclusive interview to confront the questions of his time in office and the Watergate scandal that ended his presidency. Nixon surprised everyone in selecting Frost as his televised confessor, intending to easily outfox the breezy British showman and secure a place in the hearts and minds of Americans. Likewise, Frost's team harboured doubts about their boss's ability to hold his own. But as the cameras rolled, a charged battle of wits resulted.
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Cast
- Michael SheenDavid Frost
- Frank LangellaRichard Nixon
- Kevin BaconJack Brennan
- Sam RockwellJames Reston Jr.
- Matthew MacfadyenJohn Birt
- Oliver PlattBob Zelnick
- Rebecca HallCaroline Cushing
- Toby JonesSwifty Lazar
- Andy MilderFrank Gannon
- Kate Jennings GrantDiane Sawyer
Recommendations
- 91
Entertainment Weekly
Surges with an energy and visual verve that improve the play and enhance the themes of dramatist Peter Morgan's script. - 91
The A.V. Club
In a masterful performance, Langella highlights Nixon's oily charm and guile. - 90
Los Angeles Times
The result is involving, engrossing cinema -- more thrilling, in fact, than Howard's "The Da Vinci Code" -- filmmaking of a type rarely seen anymore and sorely missed. - 88
ReelViews
Howard and Morgan have transformed this story into something more than an embellished re-telling of recent history. They have shaped a tragedy that is almost Shakespearean in force. - 80
Newsweek
Frost/Nixon works even better on screen. Director Ron Howard and Morgan, adapting his own play, have both opened up the tale and, with the power of close-ups, made this duel of wits even more intimate and suspenseful. - 80
The New Yorker
Offers considerable insight into the Nixon mystery, without solving it; the movie is fully absorbing and even, when Nixon falls into a drunken, resentful rage, exciting, but I can't escape the feeling that it carries about it an aura of momentousness that isn't warranted by the events. - 80
Village Voice
Frost/Nixon's main attraction is neither its topicality nor its historical value, but Langella's re-creation of his Tony-winning performance. - 70
The Hollywood Reporter
Less a political movie than a boxing film without the gloves.
