The Assassination of Richard Nixon

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.

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.

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.

I was lucky enough to find myself at a small screening of this picture and having no expectations, was blown away by what I saw. I felt a knot growing in my chest with every passing minute and it didn't let go until the credits rolled, when I had to take a couple deep breaths and heard the girl next to me doing the same.

What first struck me was the fragility Penn brings to his character. He's a man I'm used to seeing as well, a man's man, and to see him timid and frustrated, swallowing so much emotion in ever bigger chunks...it was remarkable to watch, his performance a credit to director Niels Mueller as well. Penn deserves another award, Noami Watts and Don Cheadle are also excellent, and Michael Wincott, as Penn's brother, makes his one scene memorable.

Niels and Kevin Kennedy have done a truly masterful job with the script, bringing unique voices and characters to life such as I rarely see on screen. Neils certainly doesn't look like a first timer behind the camera. Much of his framing feels emotionally

claustrophobic, while a few hand-held sequences made me think I was an unwilling, unwitting voyeur.

All in all this is a delicately crafted yet weighty and powerful film. I believe it gets released soon in New York and LA, but as Penn's Sam Bicke character might say "The system is unfair and everyone has a right to see this movie" so email ThinkFilm and tell them you want it in your city, too. Kudos to ThinkFIlm for getting behind this movie, they have another festival favorite of mine, "Kontroll" coming out in the spring.

I take my hat off to these filmmakers for their outstanding work.

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.