A great film, if you can find it. I first saw it nearly ten years ago, and it still is fresh in my memory. This is a one man show (Hall is the only actor in the film) and an adaptation of a stage performance. The simple premise: Several years on from his disgrace, Nixon is in San Clemente and sits down with a bottle of Chivas and his old friend, the tape recorder, to spill his guts before he commits suicide. Hall is captivating in the role and his descent into drunken madness is a masterful performance. One of Altman's best. A bit of a history lesson, but one that is more interested in theater than in truth. Still, great theater reveals its own truths and there is plenty here to chew on.
Reviews
2 Reviews
Insomnia
(1997)
Sweaty Palms
14 November 2001
Terrific. This thriller is both complex and real feeling. Some, who need more gunplay and shouting in their thrillers will not find this film to their liking. I liken it to the best of Hitchcock. An obsessive hero makes a series of poor choices that lead to his destruction. Slightly fetishistic, and always tense, I found this film quite satisfying. Stellan Skarsgard is magnetic and very watchable.
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