| | i think this is the best movie I've ever seen
 First of all, let me say why I'm not mentioning Christmas right now. I am a thousand miles from my wife, due to bad weather in Seattle. I literally have been trying to get out of here since Sunday at 11am. Seatac had been closed, and the best flight I could get is Christmas morning at 6am.
It is very hard being away from her, but we are talking on the phone all the time and trying to ignore the fact that it is Christmas Eve and we are not together - HOWEVER, I am (you may not know this because I am so pragmatic) always looking at the bright side of things, and this means I can spend more time with my dad. And it's been a great holiday with my pop.
So we went to see Frost/Nixon tonight. I remember how devastating it was to see the transcripts of President Nixon's, shall we say, 'colloquial' method of speaking, using the F word so much and referring to ethnic groups as well, derogatory terms. I think that was to me worse than the actual articles of impeachment which were due him, not because of Watergate (because he was never charged with it) but for the secret bombing of Cambodia.
The secret bombing of Cambodia was much like the attack on Iraq, except Nixon didn't tell anybody he was going to do it. He relied on faulty intelligence, and thought that Cambodia was the 'bamboo pentagon' of the communist North Vietnamese Army. Only problem, he was wrong, he killed a bunch of civilians and he unified the opposition against the United States. This greatly escalated the attacks against American soldiers, and the United States had to withdraw from the conflict due to unpopularity and heavy losses.
I was in third grade when I wrote to Richard Nixon, asking him why we were fighting a war on a foreign soil. I got a return letter from the White House saying that the President read my letter and sent his thanks. Nice.
When he resigned, it was really a sad moment in U.S. History. It was cleansing getting rid of him, but when President Ford formally pardoned him, I felt just like I feel about Treasury Secretary Paulson. I really wished that justice would catch up with him, but I knew that in a crooked big boy's club, these power-crazy executives will never see justice. But Nixon did, and thanks to people like Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein and the subject of this movie, David Frost - the record was set straight for the lessons that history bestows on us - lest we forget like the current generation.
I may have been all of about 10 years old when all of these events happened, but I never forgot them, and it has been frustrating to watch in my own generation history repeating itself.
Bravado and bluffing does one of two things. It makes the opponent go away, or it energizes them. This is the crux of this movie. Nixon played Frost like a cat in a game of cat and mouse, until the fourth interview. Nixon just couldn't bluff anymore - due to a drunken phone call of which he did not recall. Frost reminded him of it the next morning, but Nixon had no idea what he disclosed in his drunk stupor. The fourth interview for Nixon was a disaster. He admitted his wrongdoing because he just couldn't live with the bluffing a minute longer.
The acting and directing in this movie are absolutely unbelievable. The audience applauded. It was such a packed house that me and dad were in the first row, watching the action like a tennis match with our necks craned back at 45 degrees. But I have never seen an actor as good as the guy who played Nixon since Dakota Fanning (any role). There is one moment where he gets caught flat-footed with evidence he can't explain away with his smug gestures and overzealous bluffing. And in an instant, his expression subtly changes from one of powerful Chief Executive, to one of little boy in trouble. That moment in the film is remarkable.
With this movie, I think Ron Howard squeaked by Steven Spielberg as the best director ever. And the guy who played Nixon - just amazing...
This is the best I can do for Christmas eve, being away from my wife. I am trying to keep my mind on other things, glowing about this amazing movie, thankful that I can spend more time with my dad, but looking forward to being home for Christmas.
For those of you who were able to make it home for the holidays - it must be nice!
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| | Posted 12/24/2008 8:36 PM - 3163 Views - 22 eProps - 31 comments
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