Frost/Nixon

There are some directors out there, such as James Cameron, Cameron Crowe or Christopher Nolan, that I will line up to see their latest films. There are others like Michael Bay for which I believe the 'negative review' was invented for and then there are the critically acclaimed directors whose work in my opinion is incredibly over-rated (I'm looking at you Mr. Eastwood on this one, Million Dollar Baby my butt!). A man who is typically present in the same category as Mr. Eastwood is Ron Howard. Like Clint, Ron Howard makes good films, but my beef is that in both cases the directors make poor choices in the direction there films take and the pacing of their films leaving me thinking that the only reason there any good is because they are surrounded by talent. In the case of Clint I would say that one exception to this is Letters From Iwo Jima and for Ron Howard the exception to this is Frost/Nixon which I believe to be a nearly flawless film.
I feel so strongly about Frost/Nixon that several months ago I placed it in my top ten films of the past decade despite the fact that I had only seen it one time (it was the only film in my top 10 that had only seen once). Watching it in the theater I remember being glued to me seat watching every word in this film delivered with such power that I felt like I was watching a boxing match. Nixon is portrayed as the bruising heavyweight champ and Frost as the slick youngster who may not have all the tools but he knows how to win.
For those unfamiliar with the topic, the film is a dramatization of the real life interviews English talk show host David Frost held with Richard Nixon in 1977. It was the first formal sit down interview Nixon had after resigning from office and there was a sense in the country that in order to provide closure to Watergate the country needed to hear Nixon address the issues directly.
In his approach to the subject Ron Howard elects to use a documentary format allowing the supporting characters to provide insight into the behind the scenes of each camp. This technique in my opinion is what takes the film from being very good to being exceptional. Of course it also helps that the supporting cast getting the face time was Sam Rockwell, Oliver Platt, Rebecca Hall, Matthew Macfayden and Kevin Bacon. Sam Rockwell provides some of the best moments as the ultra liberal author looking to take Nixon down who succumbs to the power of the President when they meet in person and shake hands.
The film is a tour de force drama that looks into the nature of the presidency, asks the question of what impact Watergate had on Americans perspective on the presidency and looks at the nature of television and it's role in dealing with such subject matter. The performances are outstanding and the film cares without a balance of humor and seriousness that makes it watchable for everyone and not just the history buffs out there. There are films that Ron Howard has made in which I felt like the praise they received was undeserved. With Frost/Nixon no amount of praise is too much.