Nixon (1995)

Directed by Oliver Stone
Written by Stephen J. Rivele, Christopher Wilkinson
and Oliver Stone

Rated R for language

"Nixon" is perhaps one of Oliver Stone's most overlooked films. "Nixon" was Stone's first Presidential biopic since 1991's "JFK" (read my "JFK" review here), and though it featured the paranoia and conspiracy theory elements that made "JFK" so legendary, it failed to achieve the same degree of acclaim. Clocking in at 212 minutes, the director's cut of "Nixon" is actually longer than "JFK", which was already a two-sitting film for most audiences. While not as amazing a cinematic experience as "JFK", "Nixon" is a star-studded epic of political intrigue that is well worth the time investment for fan's of Stone's work.

"Nixon" stars Anthony Hopkins as Richard Nixon. My first reaction to this casting choice was that Hopkins looks nothing like Nixon. Fortunately, despite the physical differences, Hopkins gives a good show of imitating Nixon's voice and mannerisms, and shows much of the raw acting talent that won him so much acclaim in 1991's "Silence of the Lambs". Hopkins was nominated for the "Best Actor" Oscar in 1995 for this performance.

But Nixon is a different kind of monster than Hannibal Lecter was. Hopkins' Nixon is the ultimate two-faced politician. He is so megalomaniacally concerned about his public image that he often refers to himself in the third person, simply as "Nixon". He lies so freely that he seems to have a hard time keeping track of the truth. When secret White House recordings surface, he is forced to reconcile the Presidential persona that he presents to the world with the ugly, petty bigot whose voice he hears on the tapes. Several of the secret tapes feature Nixon using ethnic slurs or expressing racial intolerance. Nixon's response to his own bigotry: "Nixon can't say that. It makes me sound anti-Semetic."

Joan Allen does a fantastic job as Pat Nixon (Dick refers to her simply as "Buddy" throughout most of the film). She is the supportive wife who indulges her husband's delusions of grandeur even when the delusions become realities. As his only friend, Pat tries to remind Richard that he doesn't have to achieve the "stardom" of JFK's presidency to be a good president. She is in a way the most tragic character of the film, deeply devoted to a man who can never be content with what he has. Joan Allen was nominated for "Best Supporting Actress" for her portrayal of Pat Nixon. As I researched this film, I came across a hilarious quote which aptly describes Allen's commitment to the role:  

"To tell you the truth, if Oliver Stone had wanted Pat Nixon to wear a G-String and swing from a chandelier, I would have played it that way." 

- Joan Allen

Several other notable actors fill contributing roles, including Bob Hoskins as a very gay J. Edgar Hoover, Ed Harris as E. Howard Hunt, and James Woods (in his first Stone film since "Salvador" (1986)) as H. R. Haldeman. These characters don't have much screen-time, but add significantly to the overall star power of the film. 

The editing style of "Nixon" seems to be a cross between the hyper-edited quick-cut style of "JFK" and the hallucinatory dream-vision style of "Natural Born Killers". At times, images or film clips are jarringly superimposed over one another in a hyper-stylized manner. It is clear that this film marks a transition for Stone from one style to another, and as can be expected, is a little less stylistically coherent for it. 

Fans of "JFK" will appreciate some crossover in terms of plot. "Nixon" captures the Kennedy Assassination from Nixon's point of view. Though Nixon himself doesn't have anything to do with the assassination, the film hints that he has inadvertently come into contact with some of the bigwigs in the assassination conspiracy. A group of anti-Kennedy bigwigs supported Nixon's bid for presidency, and then his path to the White House was mysteriously cleared by the assassination or attempted assassination of many of Nixon's political enemies (including Bobby Kennedy). Aware that he is an unwilling pawn in a larger political intrigue, Nixon keeps his suspicions to himself for fear that he will be assassinated himself. It is even implied that the missing eighteen and a half minutes that were intentionally (and illegally) erased from the secret White House tapes included references to the assassination, which Nixon cryptically refers to only as "The Bay of Pigs Incident".

Overall, I'd give "Nixon" an 8/10. It's a great film with some awesome acting, but its length is prohibitive to casual viewing. While the character of one of our most notorious presidents provided an excellent arena for Anthony Hopkins to work his magic in, Richard Nixon is ultimately not as interesting as Stone's previous films subjects. Ironically, "Nixon" (a film about a President living in the shadow of his predecessor, John Kennedy) is forever doomed to live in the shadow of the much-better film, "JFK".













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