The Assassination of Richard Nixon

Just saw THE ASSASSINATION OF RICHARD NIXON last night at an AFI screening. The film is absolutely stunning.

Niels Mueller has such a sure and masterful hand in directing that belies the fact that this is his theatrical directorial debut. He directs with a flair that is never gimmicky and the film is pitch perfect without a single false note (helped in part by the tight script by Mueller and Kevin Kennedy and the elegant editing). The scenes hum with a slowburn intensity and gradually build up a momentum that lunges to the film's explosive final act.

This young director is one to watch.

Sean Penn gave a powerful and nuanced performance that explores the whole range of his acting personas. This IS the towering performance of his career. Excellent supporting work from Naomi Watts, Don Cheadle, Jack Thompson and a scene-stealing Michael Wincott.

Much like the Joel Schumacher film of 1993 starring Michael Douglas, this film is about an ordinary man with an ordinary job who is driven to insanity by the injustice and unfairness of his world. While both films teach us that no matter how solid it seems, everything will crumble under enough pressure there is no humor to TAORN. In fact it's the most depressing film like...ever.

I don't know what made me go see TAORN. I'd heard nothing of it but I like Sean Penn and Naomi Watts (they were in the brilliant 21 Grams together) and everything else at the cinema I had either seen or looked crap (Man of the House, Miss Congenatailiality 2) so I chose this, hoping it to be a dark horse. It was well made and acted but it's really, really heavy and I would not recommend it to anyone bored with their jobs or lives in general.

Sean Penn plays the true story of Sam Bicke, a furniture salesman who is estranged from his family, his wife, his children, his colleagues...basically everything. He sees the fatcats around him growing richer and richer while he rots away in his inescapable reality of nothingness. He blames Dick Nixon for his woes, the fattest of all fatcats, the man at the top of the food chain. He believes that if he kills Nixon he might be able to make the slightest of changes to the racist, lying world.

Of course he failed, but watching Sam Bicke crash and burn is a very painful thing to do. What makes it more distressing is that there is never a reason given as to why everyone deserted him. It gave the impression that anyone can be so callous and uncaring and that anyone can be driven to such insanity and desperate measures.

Not a film to see with your girlfriend that's for damn sure but certainly an impressive, if tough to watch, piece of work.

THE ASSASSINATION OF RICHARD NIXON (2004) *** Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Jack Thompson, Don Cheadle, Michael Wincott. Penn continues to be our greatest living American actor in this volatile, highly implosive achievement as a frustrated businessman circa 1974 who vents all his shortcomings into a half-baked attempt to kill President Nixon in the hope his actions actually add some color to his miserable life and impose him as a significant human being. Novice filmmaker Niels Mueller (who collaborated on the screenplay with Kevin Kennedy) constructs a significant portrait of angst, anomie and alienation yet the outcome proves to be a touch anti-climactic spoiling the rage that has been festering throughout like an undercurrent of dread. Never-the-less Penn is ably supported particularly veteran character actor Thompson as his passive/aggressive prick boss.

Nail-biting and psychological dramatic thriller that will leave you emotionally and and physically drained due to Sean Penn's breathtaking acting. A furniture salesman called Samuel J. Bicke (Sean Penn) is fired by his boss, Jack Jones (Jack Thompson). Later on, he attempts to get his brother's old tire business resurrected with a black partner (Don Cheadle) but is rejected by the banks. When he is officially served with divorce denounce by his wife (Naomi Watts), everything goes wrong. The Man takes this as a shock and begins a relentless vengeance to get even with the unfortunate victims. Samuel J. Bicke is a man for whom life has completely lost its meaning due to fateful circumstances. He has a breakdown and becomes completely mentally insane and with an incredible, adrenaline-fueled thirst for revenge, he crosses limits and confronts all those who hinder his path. He can happen to anyone !. The mad story of a true man !. A merciless purport begins with disastrous consequences !. Power is a state of mind.

Downbeat and intriguing drama/thriller about an unsettling and nasty sociopath, when his world comes apart results in unpredictable consequences. ¨The assassination of Richard Nixon¨ comes within hailing distance of such emblematic works of American disillusion as Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" and Saul Bellow's "Seize the Day." It is set in 1974 and centers on a businessman who decides to take extreme measures to achieve his American dream. Apparently the real character of Samuel Byck also inspired the role of Travis Bickle, played by Robert De Niro in Martin Scorsese''s Taxi Driver (1976). Sean Penn and Naomi Watts star in this high-voltage, disturbing drama with the spirit of a classic B-movie which also shows the lifestyle of the seventies, the political conditions and the tumultuous era of Richard Nixon. Professionally directed by Niels Mueller, it tells of a thorny character studio when a man has completely lost his mind and, in the midst of a mental breakdown, the disturbed office furniture salesman concoctes a plot to kill then-President Nixon. There's a really violent and terrifying final and in which a lot of people become the target of a insatiable rage. Alongside the always great Sean Penn appears a good cast of notable actors, such as: Naomi Watts, Don Cheadle, Jack Thompson, Brad William Henke, Nick Searcy, Michael Wincott, Mykelti Williamson, April Grace, among others.

The film is acceptable and decent enough, but it doesn't add anything new to what we've seen other times about or sadists who carry out cruel and violent vendettas or ordinary men frustrated with various pèrsonal flaws see in society the main guilty, then begin psychotically and violently lash out against them. That's why ¨The assassination of Richard Nixon¨ borrows bits and pieces from others films . But what truly stands out is the extremely strong acting by Sean Penn, who efficiently plays the worst of the psychic characters. And being debut theatrical feature film directed by Niels Mueller. The Assassination of Richard Nixon , which Niels adequately co-wrote and directed, had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, its North American premiere at The Toronto International Film Festival, and was sought by film festivals and distributors around the world. Niels was also the final production draft writer of studio box office hits ¨13 going on 30¨ (Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo) and ¨Letters to Juliet¨ (Vanessa Redgrave, Amanda Seyfried) and is an accomplished show-creator, writer and producer of network television, including the CBS series, ¨The Defenders¨, (Jim Belushi, Jerry O'Connell). Niels also received the German Federal Film Fund's highest grant award for his original screenplay, ¨A Letter For Matschek¨. Rating: 6/10. The film is especially recommended for hardcore fans of Sean Penn, who despite overacting at times, gives a truly terrifying, threatening and chilling performance.

I was lucky enough to see this film at the AFI Fest screening in Los Angeles this week. They say it will be released at the end of the year, which is not soon enough as far as I'm concerned.

Others here have commented on the brilliant performances of the stellar cast, and I must concur. There isn't a weak link in the group. Particular standouts are Jack Thompson and Michael Wincott. These two actors play character Sam Byck's (Sean Penn) boss and brother, respectively, and they are the authority figures in Sam's life whose influences are palpable in the film even when they are not on-screen. Naomi Watts and Don Cheadle provide superlative performances that we have begun to expect from them as our due. Certainly one could say the same about Sean Penn. He is probably one of the highest praised and consistently well-reviewed actors of his generation, and his performance in this film illustrates why. Penn's elegiac performance is delicately nuanced and precisely wrought. For me, this is unarguably his finest performance to date. I hope that Academy voters won't hold it against him that he won last year because if ever a performance deserves an Oscar, this is it!

Director/Co-writer Niels Mueller has crafted a stunning work that is clearly heart-felt. This is a beautifully rendered character study. The level of achievement in directing, writing, cinematography, and editing are beyond impressive. Although this film was inspired by true events that occurred three decades ago (and the director and the production design team have captured the feel and look perfectly), the film is timeless in the themes that it explores. Considering the fact that this film was conceived and written at least five years ago (according to the director during the AFI Q&A)-before 9/11, before the Clinton Impeachment, before Bush's election and re-election, before the Iraq war-it is uncanny how relevant and topical the themes are.

If you are someone who likes inspired, thought-provoking films that are well-written, beautifully acted and masterfully directed, then I advise you to run, don't walk, to see NIXON when it comes out.