"Frost/Nixon" preview

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A New York reader caught a research screening of Ron Howard's Frost/Nixon last week near Union Square, and has some generally favorable things to say. Shot only about three months ago, this adaptation of Peter Morgan's play about the famous David Frost/Richard Nixon TV interview of 1977 is "a solid, satisfying historical drama....no knockout but it fights a good fight and lands its share of solid punches.

"Frank Langella's Nixon is very good," the guy says. " Wearing very little make-up (thankfully), his performance is fully felt and fleshed out. His Nixon is competitive and guarded, but Langella makes him sympathetic, a political fighter angling for one last twilight bout without being scrubbed entirely clean of his...uhm...imperfections."

Universal will be releasing Frost/Nixon sometime in the late summer or early fall...I think. Unless they come to believe that audiences will be sick of the '08 presidential campaign by then. An instinct is telling me this may be the case and that Frost/Nixon, certain to be commercially limited in any season, will play better in late March or April or perhaps even early May -- sometime before the nominating season peaks in the mid to late summer.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on December 21, 2007 at 6:30 AM

comment #1

actionman says ...

I look forward to this film. I wanted to see the play but never had the chance. Quite curious...

Posted by actionman at December 21, 2007 7:33 AM

comment #2

BurmaShave says ...

So why not after, around Christmas? And then platform into '09, around the innauguration? Isn't this all about Langella's Best Actor campaign? Besides, if we elect Hillary, we can all watch it and notice, "Hey, it's like our new President, but with a penis!"

Posted by BurmaShave at December 21, 2007 8:45 AM

comment #3

Breedlove says ...

The play was really excellent. Langella was a revelation in it. I don't understand this late summer/spring talk. Isn't this the very definition of a prestige, Oscar-seeking fall movie? Why would you release this in August or March even?

Posted by Breedlove at December 21, 2007 9:01 AM

comment #4

Aguirre says ...

i was at this screening as well and i'll generally echo the other reader's thoughts, but i'd certainly add that as it stands the opening fifty minutes are a complete mess. howard and co. aren't sure just how much backstory to provide (i.e. do we treat our audience like they have ANY understanding of american history or do we give them watergate for dummies?) and it makes the whole affair a bit harder to buy into... until a scene between langella and bacon that transpires in the bowels of a hotel after nixon gives a speech to a group of orthodontists. it's hard to determine whether it's becauset langella is a DEAD RINGER for nixon (minus the oily hair) or that his performance is nuanced enough to transcend the sloppiness is around it... but he's as good as one could possibly be in this role, and that will be obvious to everyone from the academy to your grandma. to howard's credit, he nails the sense of camaraderie between frost's team (even if rebecca hall as frost's ladyfriend is a bit wasted), and once the first of the four interviews begins the film never loses steam. perhaps largely because of the source material, this is easily the best thing howard's directed since apollo, but this coming from someone who believes that a beautiful mind, the grinch, and the da vinci code all must have violated the geneva convention in some way. i will say that i'm curious as to how jeff and people of his ilk will feel about the final scene, which relies on an overly literal visual metaphor that begs to be mocked yet still packs a bit of a quiet wallop. we'll see.

Posted by Aguirre at December 21, 2007 9:09 AM

comment #5