Review of Assassination Of Richard Nixon, The

Introduction

9/11 redefined the use of aircraft as weapons of war. This was the first time that the world at large saw terrorists fly aircraft into buildings as a mean of sending a message and causing large-scale casualties in the process. There were varying rumours of where other flights may be headed outside of the World Trade Center, even a rumour that at least one was making way for the White House, the picturesque icon of the US Presidency. Of course, in fiction I`d seen this sort of thing before in the Jack Ryan book, Debt of Honour where a plane is flown into the Congress building on Capitol Hill.

What surprises me though is what appears to be a little known true story of Sam Bicke (Sean Penn), a man so driven to despair in 1974 that he decides to hijack an airliner and crash it into the White House and kill the current incumbent, Richard Nixon.

Sam is estranged from his wife (Naomi Watts) and children, and is struggling to make his mark as a Salesman for a furniture store. Sam has his own idea of the American Dream and aspires to go into business with Bonny (Don Cheadle), running a mobile tyre replacement company from a big red bus (that doesn`t actually run). Sam believes that most business lies, including his brother who runs a tyre company that Sam worked for previously, his current employers and also the Government and its figurehead Richard Nixon.

Bonny is exasperated with his partner`s views, seeing that his friend is bringing himself down with unrealistic aspirations and views, as well as having trouble expressing himself clearly. Sam truly believes in his Dream, which also includes getting back together with his family, and when each piece of this Dream slowly but surely slips from his grasp, he descends into a madness and fixates on the one man he thinks is to blame for his own and his country`s problems.

Inspired by the music of Leonard Bernstein, Bicke dictates an audio diary to the conductor to explain his motives and actions

Video

It`s a period piece and looks good, there is no damage at all to the print as you would expect.

Audio

Haunting soundtrack by Steven Stern, who hasn`t worked on anything large by himself (bar this, I guess) but was assisting on the likes of Renaissance Man, The Lion King and Speed.

Features

Behind The Scenes documentary - 10 minute featurette that doesn`t really shed too much light other than on the origins of the story concept.

The Real Sam Bicke - text based feature on the real-life character, his real name was spelled Byck and was changed for the film as well as the circumstances of his life which played out quite differently to how it was portrayed in the film.

Sean Penn`s Toronto Press Conference - text transcript of an interview with the principal actor over his role in this film.

Biographies - quite detailed text biographies of not only most of the main actors but also, surprisingly, 8 of the crew.

Picture Gallery - 3 minute animated slideshow of behind the scenes photo`s and still from the film.

Trailers - hmmm, wonder what these do?

Conclusion

Well, here was a story I wasn`t aware of at all. Obviously, based on a true story, it`s no surprise Bicke didn`t succeed but I would have thought that references might have been made to it during that unsettling period in the aftermath of 9/11. After all, he may not have succeeded but he was clearly a forebear of the 9/11 terrorists. So were the American public suffering from a form of collective amnesia, or was this story just not as important as the emphasis I`m placing on it 31 years on?

I don`t know the answer, but if it`s the latter then it`s clear that I`ve been affected by the performances here. Penn is absolutely superb in a grim film about the downward spiral of one man as his hopes and dreams slowly disintegrate around him. Penn is helped by a tight script, good co-stars and good directing/editing that allows the film to roar with a slow burning intensity.

This is not an action film in the least despite the trailers and artwork giving that impression. This is a slow moving but thoroughly engaging drama that sucks you in so that you not only empathise with Bicke, but you`re also screaming at him on the screen in front of you when he does or says something inappropriate that just makes his situation worse. Everything that happens is due to him, his overwhelming negativity and sense of injustice spurs him on to make a change, but unfortunately it`s always to his personal detriment. There is obviously a burst of action at the climax of the film, but it`s over in almost the blink of an eye. Oddly, this is an appropriate way to treat this in the context of the film as for all the planning that Bicke does (albeit without any real knowledge of how airport security works), ultimately he is forced to abandon his initial plan due to the reality in front of him and just act quickly off the cuff. Sadly, when news of Bicke`s attempted kidnapping appears on the TV, his ex-wife, friend and ex-boss all miss it as they are preoccupied with more important things, despite each one moving around a switched on TV, which ultimately serves as a statement of how insignificant he was to them all.

A fantastic, if ultimately depressing, film…