Nixon (1995)

Directed by Oliver Stone. Starring Anthony Hopkins, Joan Allen, James Woods, J. T. Walsh, Powers Boothe, Paul Sorvino, Mary Steenburgen, David Hyde Pierce, E. G. Marshall, Bob Hoskins, Larry Hagman, David Paymer, Madeline Kahn, Sam Waterston, Ed Harris, Kevin Dunn, Brian Bedford, Tom Bower, Saul Rubinek, Tony Goldwyn. [R]

Biopic of the controversial U.S. president touches on his childhood and early political career, but mostly focuses on his tumultuous time in the White House, his triumphs and failures, both personally and politically. Oliver Stone applies the same sort of frenzied approach he used for his last few pictures, and although it’s a fast-paced three-plus hours with lots to absorb and react to, those without studied familiarity with most of the players/pieces involved are bound to find it hard to follow the busy narrative, convoluted further by a freewheeling chronology that turns it into a kaleidoscopic character study. Not the hit job many presumed, but while this portrait sees Richard Nixon as a complicated and deeply flawed man, he wasn’t just a “crook”, and had sympathetic personal demons and admirable ambitions as well. Hopkins certainly doesn’t look or sound the part, but it’s a portrayal where embodiment takes over, and I was able to accept he was the 37th president as far as this reality was concerned (how real it is, however, will forever be up for debate). As far as Stone’s indulgences are concerned, both thematic and stylistic, it’s about halfway between JFK and Natural Born Killers, so use those examples for your personal litmus test. Overstuffed cast includes numerous recognizable faces in cameos and brief walk-ons, including Annabeth Gish, Edward Herrmann, John C. McGinley, Bai Ling, Dan Hedaya, Michael Chiklis, and more. Waterston, as CIA Director Richard Helms, only appears in the director’s cut.

81/100