Date: Fri 19-Jan-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Illustration: C

Location: A-10

Quick Words:

Nixon-Stone-Hopkins-president

Full Text:

("Nixon" rev for Now Playing, 1/19/96)

Now Playing-

"Nixon" Asks Us To Understand Nixon

By Trey Paul Alexander III

Throughout Nixon , director Oliver Stone's meaty treatise on the United

States' oft-vilified 37th president, newsreels and archival footage are keenly

utilized, but always with the visage of Anthony Hopkins as Nixon superimposed

over the real Nixon's unmistakable mug. But something interesting occurs as

the credits roll at the film's end: Stone utilizes some untampered footage of

Richard M. Nixon. It is a seemingly unimportant moment, but one that evokes

What's Love Got To Do With It , the 1993 Tina Turner bio-pic starring Angela

Bassett.

Bassett, Oscar-nominated for her work in the leading role, managed to capture

the essence of Turner - her style, strength and performing energy - without

caricaturing Turner's trademark mannerisms. At the end of the film, when a

performance clip of Turner is unveiled, Bassett's illusion is not broken

because her portrayal goes further than surface depth. Hopkins works a similar

magic in Nixon , which is playing at the Crown Cine theatre, but his success

is not as complete as Bassett's.

Hopkins, working off a screenplay co-written by Stone, labors to create a

humanizing portrait of the national leader often depicted as a one-dimensional

despot or Machiavellian figure. Therefore, Hopkins does not spend the film's

190 minutes sweating under tons of prosthetic makeup - which often, but not

always, tends to render an actor's performance as only skin deep. Rather, the

bulk of his energies is spent trying to unearth the motivations of this man,

the only Commander in Chief to resign from office. To this end, Hopkins is

largely effective, though his voice sounds more like Jason Robards than Tricky

Dick.

Nixon is also bolstered by strong work from a cohesive, proficient ensemble

that includes Joan Allen as Pat Nixon, James Woods as H.R. Haldeman, Paul

Sorvino as Henry Kissinger, and many other familiar talents such as Ed Harris,

David Hyde Pierce, Powers Boothe and Mary Steenburgen. A sturdy Allen and an

impeccible Sorvino are the standouts.

Performances notwithstanding, what exactly does Nixon say about this infamous

figure in American politics? Controversy follows Stone like mice dancing to

the tunes of the Pied Piper, so many moviegoers were anxious - or dreading? -

to discover the filmmaker's take on Nixon. If anything, Stone might have gone

an inch too far in trying to absolve Nixon of the villainy that is often

thrust upon him.

Interestingly, Stone casts Nixon in the mold of Orson Welles' Citizen Kane,

the imposing figure whose goal is the world, and when he gets it, finds it

empty and unfulfilling. Kane became a publishing giant, full of money and

power who eventually went to his deathbed wishing for the simplicity of his

childhood. Nixon, as seen here, is a vulnerable politician whose desire to

serve the public good is constantly undermined by his insecurity; when stacked

up against the "correct" family, upbringing and schooling of the Kennedys,

particularly JFK, who upstaged him in a historic TV debate, Nixon felt like an

ignoble outsider.

Stone's vision dangerously dallies with a notion of Nixon as victim, using

some cannily constructed flashbacks and narration to convey the importance of

his childhood and the influence of his parents. But more importantly, Nixon ,

rated R for rough language, takes the more difficult route of trying to convey

emotional motivation for Nixon's infamous actions (Watergate, the bombing of

Cambodia, etc) instead of merely reiterating those events. The movie's end is

achieved, and no matter what your political affiliation or feeling toward

Nixon, you will be certain to see the method behind what many wrongly consider

to be Stone's madness.