I've never been big on 70's politics, always found it a depressing era with everyone moaning about something but I actually enjoyed the film and it gave me a better idea of what went on.
Having said that, I had a couple of gripes with it. For 90% of the time I really didn't find myself cheering anyone on. On one side you have a shallow, ignorant egomaniac, pursuing money but way out of his depth who very nearly wasted the opportunity of a lifetime while selling the American public down the river and on the other, you have Nixon, arrogant, self-righteous and full of bravado. It's actually only their respective backups who you feel for, each trying to protect what they stand for.
My main problem however is the last 10 minutes when it finally does feel like Ritchie Cunningham comes down on the side of the president, trying to elicit sympathy for a broken lonely man. Langella in this case does not help matters with his HoundDog expression and as good as he was, I felt he gave Nixon too much strength, gravitas and dignity. Nixon always came across to me as a weasely underhanded little snake. I didn't like him when I heard the tapes and I planned on keeping it that way. Still it's an interesting film and well worth watching.
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