DECISIONS, DECISIONS...
I SAW the impressive likely Oscar contender Frost / Nixon at Broad Street Cineworld today, followed by a Q&A with writer Peter Morgan and star Michael Sheen (who plays David Frost).
Filmed at the Curzon Mayfair in London, this Q&A was beamed into 36 cinemas nationwide 'from Aberdeen to Brighton and everywhere in between'.
I had assumed the film would be a factual account of David Frost's interviews with Richard Nixon.
Interestingly, Morgan revealed two key ways in which the film is heavily fictionalised - which then affected by entire view of what I'd just seen.
Now then, do I give these points away in my review on January 23 in order to help illuminate viewers' knowledge?
Or do I keep it, er, zipped?
Mmmm. One to think about in the days ahead - but, unusually, I'm inclined to spill the beans since Frost/Nixon is supposed to be, at least in part, a film about truth and justice.
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Graham Young
All this movie does is contribute to the ongoing dumbing-down of the audience for the sake of entertainment. Since JFK, and more recently with “The Hurricane” and “Invincible”, Hollywood has been spicing up so-called ‘true stories’ and taking incredible license with the facts. Clearly, filmgoers are into “reality” these days, and any movie that claims to be about what really happened is going to have some enhanced appeal. Richard Nixon was a key figure in modern American politics and learning what made him tick and shaped his behavior in the Oval office is important. This film injects pure fantasy and whole sequences which simply did not happen in order to make the film more seedy. The disclaimer that some scenes were invented by the filmmaker should have been shown in big letters at the beginning of the movie, as well as during all the phony scenes.
Some excellent points there, John. Especially at the end. Imagine how much it would spoil a film if, during such a key scene as the one I've been alluding to, the words 'We've faked this bit!' were plastered across the screen.
Which again begs the question... should I point out the fakery in my review... or leave people to believe that what they are seeing actually happened?
Steven Spielberg's last Oscar nomination for directing was in 2006 for Munich which had the rider 'inspired by real events'.
Whether describing the movie, or the real life story, 'inspired' is not a word I would have chosen for Munich - but at least Spielberg came up with something to remind us of the need to take a pinch of salt.