Close-Ups Done Right

"Some people think close-ups abstract the actors out of the reality of the set and push them into a floating world. But I actually think that is only true if there's not enough going on in the eyes, enough intimacy going on that you're forced to watch the eyes. If you're listening to the voice, you get pushed into that floating world, that you don't know where you where you are and it feels oppressive. And it's uh, it's a kind of indication of the ways our lives have gone with intimacy and the lack of it that we're scared of close-ups. And I mean the original close-up was so powerful, which was our mother looking at us as we breast-fed or something. So it's such a powerful mechanism that it's to be used, I suppose, sparingly." (Jim Sheridan, In America director's commentary, out on DVD 8/31/04)


The Hans Zimmer score of Frost/Nixon (four stars total) sounds like the composer's other work this year in The Dark Knight, and the other similarity there is that both films featured likable villains. Much as you can still appreciate the Joker through grunts and lip-licking, Frank Langella talks like he has oatmeal in his mouth and still comes off as a sympathetic Richard Nixon. That's impressive. David Frost, played by Michael Sheen (The Queen, the Underworld series), reminded me at first of Ricky Gervais, who I can't appreciate, but then the proud little peacock grew on me. By the time Nixon stunned him into looking like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle, my heart was beating faster than it ever did in The Dark Knight. That's impressive too. It's the first lengthy close-up of someone staring off into space, but it's not the big one. Frost gets his revenge with the closest possible thing to an apology from the former president, but it's not done vengefully. The film's surprising (to me) climax is both compassionate and competitive. It's intimate, and not just because it uses a close-up. I think people assume that the big screen should be reserved for big, panoramic views and close-ups should be left to daytime television, but when done the right way, close-ups can be just as spacious and breathtaking. Speaking of television, I learned that it was not only Nixon's final defeat (because of these interviews), but it had been the cause of his initial defeat against Kennedy. I also learned that Diane Sawyer worked for Nixon and there is an interesting parallel between Cambodia back then and weapons of mass destruction today. I can't understand why the filmmakers chose to mix real news footage with pretend interviews, but that's my only complaint. My personal reasons for being able to enjoy a film so much about talking heads is that I have a history of high school debate and I, like Frost, am a procrastinator. I also get stage fright more after the fact than before like Frost does in the film and I loved the scene right after the climax with him alone in the car. Last but not least, I appreciated hearing the song "I Feel Love" out of all the songs they could have chosen from 1977 for the reasons in my 8/26/08 post.