DVD Review: The Assassination of Richard Nixon

Rarely does a film come along that speaks for the common man, and when it does it makes a serious impact. Films like Network (I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this any more!) tap into the American mindscape and stick and, with the American mindscape being where it is today, there's a lot of people that are mad as hell in need of a unifying message. The Assassination of Richard Nixon delivers that message, and no review would be complete without an objective reaction to it - it was spot on.

The Assassination of Richard Nixon is told through Samuel J. Bicke (Sean Penn), an over-the-hill furniture salesman who's feeling rejection - like all of us, respectively - from his job, his family, and from his nation. The American Dream is fading before his very eyes, and Penn plays it beautifully. Although Samuel J. Bicke was once a real man, and this story is an adaptation of the final years of his life (he is killed attempting to hijack a plane), his character is not overdramatized.

The overwhelming effort to humanize Bicke via script, film direction, and acting must have taken enormous effort, and that effort pays off. Although Samuel J. Bicke's dignity is compromised throughout The Assassination of Richard Nixon, he is never overly pathetic despite the journey the audience takes through his most desperate days. Penn remains timid throughout the film, allowing the audience to feel each tread on our protagonist's existence.

Although Penn has by far the most on-screen time throughout The Assassination of Richard Nixon, other actors play their parts well. Naomi Watts stars as Penn's wife, Marie Andersen Bicke; Don Cheadle as Bonny Simmons; and Jack Thompson as Jack Jones.

A number of issues are tackled throughout The Assassination of Richard Nixon, including racism, warmongering, selling out, the red tape of bureaucracy, and divorce. They boil down to a well-focused thesis by the end of the film: the system is corrupt. This proves to be rewarding throughout the film as Nixon becomes more and more hypocritical. This is important not only because the film is titled 'The Assassination of Richard Nixon' but because striking correlations arise between Nixon, Penn's overbearing boss, and other authority figures. Of course, the audience can read into this and apply it to modern times.

Unfortunately, no modern application is commented upon beyond the film. It would seem that the film's distributors knew that reviews would never go beyond the theaters; the DVD is surprisingly weak. There's no 'making of' or 'behind the scenes' action. As soon as The Assassination of Richard Nixon pops up on the screen, there are few other options besides scene selection.

Despite The Assassination of Richard Nixon being a fantastic film, its DVD offers little replay value. And, after all, this is a DVD review. After all is said and done, I'd have to give this great film's DVD release a negative review. No, it's not a fun movie that you can pop into your DVD player to kill some time. It's not a date movie. It's a movie about the depths any cathartic American man can sink to, once imposed upon by American ways. The Assassination of Richard Nixon is a fantastic, mature film that everyone should see, once. The Assassination of Richard Nixon is a DVD that is worth a rent and an objective review by all Americans, young or over-the-hill.