The Assassination of Richard Nixon is an overrated movie. Everybody desperately wants it to be more than that, since we are living in the us against them political era of the 21st century. The problem with that is that the film is based on actual events, and not much is done to dramatize those events. The climax is exactly as it happened, according to a little research I did after seeing the movie. Therefore, in spite of the desperate attempt to make this a Penn vs. Bush film, it really isn't. It's just a character study of one troubled man in 1974.
The performances in the film are just fine. They're kind of hard not to be as Penn, Cheadle, and Watts are some of today's best living actors. I liked Cheadle's character the best. He portrayed a man who is troubled by the world around him, yet he still works hard to make a good life for himself and his family. Penn's character, Sam Bicke, on the other hand, blames everybody but himself for all of his problems, and sets out to change the world, leaving his friends and family behind.
Watts is fine in her role, but she is wasted as she does not have much screen time in this 95 minute feature. When we meet her, she and Sam are already separated, and just a short while later, the ever present divorce papers appear. More dedication to this relationship would have enhanced this movie significantly.
I felt absolutely no sympathy for Sam Bicke. The movie suggests he was married to a beautiful, intelligent, hard working woman, and was in the process of raising a nice family with her. However, because he could not get over the fact that his job as a salesman sometimes led him to lie to a customer, he threw it all away, and eventually became a murderer, and got himself brutally killed in the process.
The performances in the film are just fine. They're kind of hard not to be as Penn, Cheadle, and Watts are some of today's best living actors. I liked Cheadle's character the best. He portrayed a man who is troubled by the world around him, yet he still works hard to make a good life for himself and his family. Penn's character, Sam Bicke, on the other hand, blames everybody but himself for all of his problems, and sets out to change the world, leaving his friends and family behind.
Watts is fine in her role, but she is wasted as she does not have much screen time in this 95 minute feature. When we meet her, she and Sam are already separated, and just a short while later, the ever present divorce papers appear. More dedication to this relationship would have enhanced this movie significantly.
I felt absolutely no sympathy for Sam Bicke. The movie suggests he was married to a beautiful, intelligent, hard working woman, and was in the process of raising a nice family with her. However, because he could not get over the fact that his job as a salesman sometimes led him to lie to a customer, he threw it all away, and eventually became a murderer, and got himself brutally killed in the process.