Pass the Popcorn: Movies from where I Sit

A friend of mine who likes movies as much as I do has been weeding out her collection of DVDs, and in the process discovering she has two of some.  So she gave me a copy of "Frost/Nixon" directed by Ron Howard and made in 2009.  It was nominated for best picture, and I can see why.  The cast is amazing, and Frank Langella especially is a miracle onscreen.  It's a pity he didn't win best actor, as he brings so much layered nuancing to Nixon.  Michael Sheen is great as Frost, and the supporting cast is knockout, with Kevin Bacon playing Nixon's advisor, anxious and loyal, Oliver Platt and Sam Rockwell as advisors to Frost, Matthew MacFadden as Frost's producer and Rebecca Hall as his girlfriend.  It's so fast paced that I didn't realize it was a two hour film, and gripping as we wait to see if Nixon bests Frost or vice versa.  As a meditation on the media and politics it's educational, and as a forerunner of the direction of the American Presidency has gone since, with more and more decisions being forged by the President and his cabinet, without the knowledge of Congress, it serves as a warning.  But really, the genius is in seeing the parallels in both personalities, as well as the contrast.  The viewer watches the flaws and vulnerabilities, the vanities and prejudices, the initial lack of understanding about what was at stake and the deep need of both men for validation, which is elusive and perhaps a wound in their psyches.  I have to say that Oliver Platt is funny and so believable as a journalist who feels his reputation is at risk as well, and Sam Rockwell delightful as a guy bent on destroying Nixon who is also in awe of him and who ends up feeling sympathetic and being surprised by it. The film has a lot of humor and in no way feels like a history lesson.  It is a balanced film:  everybody has made mistakes, and nobody is seeing the whole picture, except maybe Kevin Bacon's character, who tries to head off disaster for a man he loves and admires.  His sadness is touching.  He knows too much.