Being a Malaysian, I am far from having the knowledge of American politics. I have watched All The Presidents Men and JFK, knowing so little of its background. But they were both rivetting films, thanks to their brilliant scripts and cinematography. It is for the same reason that I watched Nixon. I know that it will nowhere be close to the above films, but I also knew that Oliver Stone only faltered occasionally and the least I can find is his offbeat cinematography and direction. I was not disappointed.

Among the other prophecies that I thought of was that the film will flop. I am not proud to see that that prophecy of mine came true. Sad, but true. The cinema I went to, Cathay, in Singapore, was occupied only by a few that day. If I am not wrong, it played only in that theatre, nowhere else. It didn't last long, not in a country where the knowledge of history amongst its young is limited to its own backyard and never a few decades older.

Sad, for Nixon is a brilliant and a very entertaining movie. For a boring subject (politics will always be boring) Stone carved out a beatiful sculpture out of a fat slab of rock. He used every other possible filming technique to achieve a stunning and often, suspensful portrayal of a disgraced American president. Yes, like most accusations by Nixon's detractors, this film does symphatise with him. But it does not refrain from exposing Nixon as a liar, as often as it does in opening his conscience.

The film began with ultimate tribute to Orson Welles groundbreaking Citizen Kane. Like the former's opening, here the camera swoops towards the White House main gate, with rain and thunder blasting away, and exposes through the fence the towering building as if it was a Transylavian castle, housing a vampire. This is the common perception of Americans who thought they knew the man in it at that time. Well, Stone being Oliver Stone, showed us more than that.

I can't help but compare this film, its parralel with Citizen Kane. From the use of flashbacks, to the oblique camera angle, it was as if the classic was being remade. Instead, this is based on real story. It is all as if the film was being made by a young genius, a 25 year old; ex-radio employee named Orson Welles. The ghost is there. I can't help now but to think that Stone is an extension of Orson Welles, or Welles reborn. But of course, I am wrong. Stone is a great filmmaker in his own right and comparison can only hurt some of his better traits.

What Nixon the film accomplishes may be beyond my comprehension, as I have said, due to my ignorance in politics, American especially. But what I perceive is a fast paced depiction of the fall of a man who had always been aware of failure and allowed himself to be humiliated more than few occasions. I was hooked from beginning, watching this character and those around him, making and unmaking a great infamous human being. The greatness being in his ability to go where he wanted to, and his inability to communicate. Fascinating. I never had seen an actor completely surrendering himself to a role like Hopkins did.

Okay, I exaggerate as usual. There are many actors who do that, but this is the first time I appreciated Hopkins. Hannibal Lecter was a piece of cake, for an actor of Anthony Hopkins' caliber. Any experienced actor can pull it off. It is, as Brando would say, an actor proof role. You can't go wrong. But to play a real character like Nixon, you need all you got. You need research; you need to get into that soul. In this case, you are going to play a figure everyone already knows about. They know his face; they know how he talks walks and lies. Hopkins does not resemble Nixon at all. But he made the role his own. Yes, he has the talk, the walk, the stutter, the hunchback, the style, all when he is in public. But Hopkins the actor is in full swing during the private moments with his family (esp his wife) or with his men. I like one scene where he keeps pacing and hiding behind some of the furnitures like a caged animal, when confronted by his wife, a far more towering figure both physically and in moral standing. Brillantly acted and directed. Kudos to Stone and the performers.

This is another film that will be a textbook to wannabe directors. I recommend (yeah, right) to those who missed it to take another look at it. Certainly one of better films which came out of the dry season of the nineties.