In That Holiday Spirit (of Twitchiness)

I don't know whether it's the fact that I'm a bit sick, or if it's the holiday blues, or maybe it's the 'nog, but I've been acting damn strange lately. 

The good thing is that I'll be visiting Ingleside over Christmas, so it's not like I'll stand out much in my weirdness.

All slagging of miniscule Ontario towns aside, I know it's not the 'nog. But more on that later. 

Until then, I actually went to see a movie! A real one, in a theater with tickets and everything!

Frost/Nixon Dramatizes the story behind the famous interviews by David Frost of Richard Nixon, which prised some honesty about Watergate from Nixon years after he resigned. That I could only write that sentence because I read movie reviews says something about one of the problems Frost/Nixon faces. Nixon is a generational figure, either as a sinner or as a joke. To me, he was firmly the latter, and the first things I learned about him were, in order, Watergate; the V for Victory fingers; "I am not a crook!"; and that he was the owner of a pair of magnificent jowls. The bitterness shown by some of the movie's characters over Cambodia, or over betraying the American people, is confusing when you're wondering if he's the same lovable old guy from Dick. Frank Langella's excellent performance as Nixon, and the pull of the underdog narrative, also make Frost's eventual triumph less than satisfying for anyone who was not a victim of the seventies. It becomes almost unwanted.

There is one other issue, the conceit of editing it as a partial documentary. Although the scenes set during the interviews act like narrative film, they are awkwardly broken up by documentary-style commentary by the major players, played by the same actors in aging make up. When people are reminiscing, they are already acting out their version of history, and by the time you have actors acting like they are acting, things are starting to get a little overcooked. I do feel like I am being a little picky, however. In spite of these two issues, Frost/Nixon is quick-moving, and interesting. You can barely feel the two-hour long running time. And, at least watch it as a historical document on insanely wide ties.