8/10
Damn lack of cash prevented us from double billing this with its spiritual sequel, Frost/Nixon, but it seemed appropriate since this week sees the end of the reign of what will almost certainly be remembered as the worst president bar Nixon (who was corrupt, but at least apparently competent).
This is, of course, the story of the reporters who chased down the leads and told the story of what would become known as the Watergate scandal (giving birth to the irritating habit of ending controversial things with "-gate" eg Pizzagate, Sachsgate, Stargate.. well maybe not the last one).
Annoying journalist clichés aside and looking at the film we have a true story on our hands, and one in which there will not be a satisfying payoff to enjoy, since all of us know that Nixon was never charged for his involvement.
It is to the film's credit that despite being hampered by a need to relate true events sensibly, the tale is told with tension and interest. This is partly due to the story being a fairly incredible one in real life, and partly to do with the strength of the cast.
Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman are excellent as Woodward and Bernstein (or collectively, "Woodstein") the leads and anchors for the tale. The supporting cast is also particularly good, with the evr dependable Jason Robards is superb as the idealistic yet realistic editor in chief (he won an oscar for the performance.
It's all shot in excellent film-noir style, with atmosphere in spades especially during the sequences where Woodward meets his key contact, Deep Throat (hur hur) and the fear that develops as the journalists go deeper and find out the true extent of the conspiracy.
That a true story so well known and covered can be exciting and interesting nevertheless is all due to thehard work made by the cast and crew. Unfortunatley I can't help but think the film came slightly too soon for things to wrap up nicely, the end when it comes is all too sudden and there's little in the way of emotional or moral climax as a result. Everyone is also very earnest and well meaning in their performances and noone looks like they are having fun in their roles, possibly due to the proximity of the events and the protagonists in the tale are mostly still alive (if not at liberty).
The film while it lasts is very good, I can't help feeling with a little more breathing room it may have been a classic.
A
Monday, January 19, 2009
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This is an interesting film mainly for what wasn't shown rather than what was shown. It was (of course) based on the original book by Woodward and Bernstein and adapted by William Goldman. In his book "Adventures in the Screen Trade" Goldman devotes a whole chapter to the process of adoption and it yields a number of surprising things:
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2) The Watergate break-in was the last of a long series of bunged ones which saw the burglars with ill-fitting keys and spending a night in a store cupboard after getting locked in. This also didn't make it into the film as it would have slowed it down
3) Carl Bernstein and his then-girlfriend Nora Ephron (When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle) actually wrote a version of the script that Robert Redford liked. The only scene of that screenplay which made it into Goldman's script was where Goldstein outfakes a secretary to get in to see someone. And that was a made up scene which never happened in real life.
He also says that if he could live his life through again he still write all his screenplays exactly as he has "Only I wouldn't have gone near All The Presidents Men"
I think that some of these script issues (the fact that it is a very complex story that everyone knew the ending to) contributed to your thoughts that the end was too sudden and abrupt and the story needed some room to breath