Lead actors give 'Frost/Nixon' its punch

In one corner, we have a former U.S. president trying to rehabilitate his public image after resigning in disgrace.

In the other sits a British talk show host whose dazzling smile and lightweight interview style have won him a great deal of success, but little respect.

These two combatants square off in Ron Howard's "Frost/Nixon," a compelling adaptation of Peter Morgan's acclaimed stage play about the televised 1977 interview/smackdown that stunned Americans and people all over the world.

Three years after the Watergate scandal, a bitter and humiliated former President Richard Nixon (Frank Langella) longs to win back the people's trust. He decides that the way to do that is to grant the interview sought by David Frost (Michael Sheen), a British television star known for his playboy life and cream-puff celebrity interviews.

Nixon believes he can manhandle Frost and get public opinion back on his side. He even suggests that after the interview, he might be able to enter the political world again.

Frost, meanwhile, wants to "get" Nixon because such an interview would enable Frost to conquer the all-important American entertainment market. "Think of the numbers," Frost says to his producer, his pupils practically turning into dollar signs.

It appears to be a mismatch at the start. For all his recent troubles, Nixon is still a savvy communicator. He builds up an arsenal of folksy anecdotes and justifications designed to keep Frost from controlling the conversation.

On the other side, Frost hires a couple of consultants to research and prepare the interviews: veteran newsman Bob Zelnick (Oliver Platt) and writer James Reston Jr. (Sam Rockwell). Despite their best efforts, though, Frost seems more interested in stepping out with his hot young girlfriend than in studying up on Nixon, Vietnam and Watergate.

When the two finally sit down together for the multipart interviews, Nixon crushes the TV star in the early going. But like Muhammad Ali doing a rope-a-dope, Frost battles back near the end, showing more toughness than his adversary, and most of the viewing public, thought he had.

A drama like "Frost/Nixon" lives or dies by its two leads, and the ones here, both of whom played their roles on the London stage, deliver the goods.

Sheen, so excellent as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in Morgan's "The Queen," captures the pain and insecurity behind Frost's slick grin and fashionable haircut. And Langella ignites the screen as the seething Nixon, despite some shaky early scenes when he seemed to be imitating the former president's distinctive speech patterns a bit too broadly.

Sheen and Langella are so good, in fact, that they compensate for the film's bland visual style and disjointed pacing. Howard fails to deliver a single memorable image in the film, and he comes close to killing the whole enterprise by presenting the story as a series of retrospective interviews with the supporting players. These annoying black-and-white asides interrupt the film's momentum, never allowing it to take off.

Thankfully, Howard has the sense not to interrupt the verbal boxing match between Frost and Nixon that makes up the film's final act. When Sheen and Langella enter the ring, "Frost/Nixon" becomes a knockout.

"Frost/Nixon"

Rating: 3 stars

Starring: Michael Sheen, Frank Langella, Oliver Platt, Sam Rockwell, Toby Jones, Kevin Bacon, Rebecca Hall

Directed by: Ron Howard

A Universal release. Rated R for some language. 122 minutes