By Jamie Folsom
Berthoud Recorder

Director: Ron Howard
Stage and screenplay: Peter Morgan
Starring: Michael Sheen (David Frost), Frank Langella (Richard Nixon), Rebecca Hall (Caroline Cushing), Kevin Bacon (Jack Brennan)
Nominated for 5 Oscars including Best Motion Picture and Best Actor (Langella)
MPAA rating: R for some language
Reviewer rating: 5 out of 5 stars

They’re still here! I love Oscar time because it gives me the chance to go see some really good movies I missed earlier. Many of the top contenders come back for a second run, and some hang on a little longer to catch the advertising wave the nominations cause.

“Frost/Nixon” is a riveting documentary-style film that deserves as many nominations as it can hold in its gritty mitts. Based on real events, it’s the story of the series of interviews talk show host David Frost had with former President Richard Nixon in 1977. The real story has a perfect premise — how does the King of British TV Fluff manage to get a one-on-one interview with the disgraced leader of the free world?

The answer, of course, is that Frost has to literally beg, borrow and steal to finance the project because he lacks any credibility as a journalist. His reputation as a “softball” interviewer fits right in with Nixon’s campaign to re-establish his crushed post-Watergate public image and make his way back to Washington. Career makeovers on a head-on collision course. Great stuff it was at the time, and great stuff it makes for a stageplay adaptation to film.

The immediate question with reality-based stories is, of course, the acting. No one wants to see a serious film come off as a parody with caricatures instead of characters. Langella (Nixon) and Sheen (Frost) are no impersonators. I quit thinking of them as actors early on and was swept into the story. In a word — flawless.

Another sticky point with true stories, is the fact that the outcome is already known. There’s no punchline to pop and no rewriting of history, especially when one of the main characters is still alive. But this film is not about the outcome of Watergate, the Vietnam War or the elections. It is about two men who hope to change their futures desperately struggling with themselves and each other to get what they so deeply desire — public approval. To come out on top of the interviews is to win. And as Nixon points out, there can be only one winner. This movie is filled with solid acting and ‘70s era culture. Worth the price, even twice.