Most people of a certain age remember where they were when Richard Nixon announced his resignation in 1972. Fewer remember his series of one-on-one interviews with British talk-show host David Frost in 1977, in which Nixon tried to paint a rosy picture of his Oval Office days in an effort to rehabilitate his image with the American people. Ron Howard’s take on the mercurial fallen king and his puffball interviewer is evocative, compelling drama, no matter how you feel about the disgraced former leader. Frank Langella’s commanding performance as Nixon more than makes up for any plot predictabilities.

By 1977, Nixon was living in semi-seclusion in a villa in southern California, recovering from a bout of phlebitis. His literary agent, Swifty Lazar (Toby Jones) mentions that David Frost had contacted him, looking to interview the former president. Believing this could be his one chance to show America that he wasn’t as bad as the so-called liberal media made him out to be, Nixon leaps at the chance (as well as the fee of $600,000).

From Frost’s perspective, an interview of Nixon could do nothing but catapult him to superstardom. He had begun his show-biz career as a stand-up comic and had parlayed that success into a few talk shows. His interview subjects had never had the gravitas of a former president, however, and he was known for his puff pieces more than anything else. His success had been restricted to Britain and Australia, as a previous attempt to break through in the States had fallen short. So he needed these interviews to really work out well.

Funding, though, was a serious issue. All of the promises of monies had been contingent on sufficient sponsorship, and one by one companies declined to buy ad time. Eventually, Frost financed the four interviews himself (including paying for equipment and labor).

For several months, Frost worked with two top researchers, Bob Zelnick (Oliver Platt) and James Reston, Jr. (Sam Rockwell), and they craft several solid, journalistically sound questions for the former leader. The Frost and Nixon camps also agreed that Watergate would comprise only a portion of the interview subjects. Foreign policy, Vietnam, and other pursuits would take up most of the interview time.

The interviews did not go well initially, as Frost was quickly in over his head with the old pro; Nixon barely let his questioner get a word in edgewise, dominating the conversation with rambling, empty replies. Not until the final session, ostensibly about Watergate, did Frost gain an edge, and his pursuit bore plenty of fruit. In that final session, Nixon claimed that not only had he not broken the law in covering up the Watergate scandal, his actions were by definition not illegal – because he was the president. (This was a defense later used by another, even more mendacious administration.) By the time of this claim, Nixon’s attitude had transformed from supreme confidence to wilting acquiescence to Frost; he was, by the end of the talks, a broken man – and his public persona never really recovered.

A couple of quick points. Although this is really told from Frost’s viewpoint, the movie is all about Richard Nixon’s attempt to save face; the film makes no bones about this. Also, although Michael Sheen is excellent as the seemingly benign Frost, it’s Frank Langella who turns in the performance of a lifetime (he was nominated for an Oscar, as was director Ron Howard and the film itself). It’s tough to do a real-life character like Richard Nixon without submerging oneself in caricature; the man was nothing if not imitable. But anyone can do a Nixon impression (Oliver Platt does one in this film); Langella simply embodies the aging demogogue with a rich, crusty take of a man clinging desperately to a fleeting moment of redemption.

Howard’s expert direction shows up in subtle ways, such as his use of silence. Most directors just can’t help but add some pop song to the background of every scene, as if the acting itself won’t be enough to deliver the required emotional impact. Silence, in the right hands, can be golden, and Howard picks his moments well.

So even if you clearly recall these fabled interviews (which have been largely lost to the mists of time, what with worse monsters than Nixon coming down the road) and therefore know how they played out, you should find much to like about the presentation and the characterizations contained within. Some of the proceedings may seem a little cliched (the phone call between Nixon and Frost just prior to the final interview, or the mere fact that Frost saves his own bacon in the final interview), but they’re not plentiful enough to offset the stark portrayal of a broken, desperate man.

Frost/Nixon: ***1/2