The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004)

President Tense

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy The Assassination of Richard Nixon on DVD.

This "based-on-a-true-story" film tells the story of Samuel Bicke, who, in 1974, planned to hijack a plane and crash it into the White House. The film struggles with its attempt to define just who Bicke really is in the months prior to his "attack," and comes up with nothing more than a cipher. Sean Penn plays Bicke with intensity, while vainly trying to find a center to this disturbed man, a failed salesman who can't understand where the line is and when not to cross it. It's a peculiar kind of madness, though, and you can't fault Penn for his admirable attempt. I suspect that concentrating solely on the event itself, its preparation and planning, might have revealed something more. But that section is left to the last 10 minutes of the film and an inexplicable flash-forward in the movie's opening minutes. Niels Mueller, a screenwriter on "Tadpole," makes his directorial debut. Naomi Watts plays Bicke's ex-wife, and Don Cheadle has a strange supporting role as Bicke's friend, an auto mechanic, though how and why they are friends is not made clear. For a far more interesting take on the Nixon era, check out Robert Altman's Secret Honor (1984), recently released to DVD.

DVD Details: New Line's no-frills DVD comes with trailers for other New Line features (Primer and Vera Drake), two audio mixes (5.1 and 2.0) and optional Spanish and English subtitles, but that's about it.

Starring: Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Don Cheadle, Jack Thompson, Brad Henke, Jared Dorrance
Written by: Kevin Kennedy, Niels Mueller
Directed by: Niels Mueller
MPAA Rating: R for language and a scene of graphic violence
Running Time: 95 minutes
Date: January 7, 2005