The Assassination of Richard Nixon

Now, this makes an interesting compare-and-contrast with "The Woodsman". Like that film, "The Assassination of Richard Nixon" takes you inside the mind of a man whose behavior we are not even remotely expected to sympathize with, but whom it is important that we understand. Unlike that film, however, this one succeeds at what it attempts.

Sam Bick (whose slightly-altered-for-dramatic-purposes story this film tells) was a salesman. Not a very good salesman, because he despised the lies that a career as a big-time successful salesman is built on. He was also not a very good husband... his wife left him, and after a year's separation, divorced him. Even his relationships with his children, his best friend, and his dog (yes, his dog) seemed to be coming apart at the fringe. A man with at best a precarious hold on reality, Bick finally snapped. Nobody in the world was noticing him, but he was determined to commit an act that guaranteed they would, and the film's title tells you the rest.

Bick was a madman, unquestionably. But the fact remains that his "ravings" about the American dream being denied to a considerable portion of the "little" people have more than a small element of truth. And his observations about the politically powerful of 1974 could, in large part, apply just as accurately to 2005. It's a little uncomfortable, perhaps, to realize that we could have anything to learn from a man like Bick, but it's also very difficult to deny. This is only one aspect of what makes this movie so powerful and unnerving.

Another element, of course, is the typically powerhouse performance of Sean Penn in the lead role. Penn does the same sensational job he did in "Dead Man Walking", diving headfirst into a twisted mind and making us see the world through his eyes. A mighty uncomfortable view that is, too, but what better way to truly understand his character?

Even the "minor" supporting roles, like Bick's estranged wife (Naomi Watts) and best friend (the better-be-Oscar-nominated Don Cheadle) (for both this and "Hotel Rwanda") are as well written and performed as Penn's, giving us a look at Bick through the perspectives of characters who cared about him, but found that more and more impossible to do.

"The Assassination of Richard Nixon" is an extremely potent tragedy on a number of levels.... the tragedy of a country, and the tragedy of a man who under other circumstances might have led a happy life. And of course, after all else is said and done, we're still left with plenty of food for thought about what those in power do to keep that power. If we admit that Bick had SOME observations worth considering, well... what are WE going to to about those questions?

By the time most of you read this, the 2005 Oscar nominations will have been announced. So let me say this right now: I'll be very shocked if this film isn't represented at least a couple of times on that list. Oh, and one other thing... great as he's been in everything he's done since seemingly forever, considering his track record of tragedy the past few years, isn't it time for a Sean Penn comedy? I mean, if Deniro and Hoffman can do it, why not? Let's just not have Penn co-starring with them in "Meet The Fockers Again"...