The Assassination of Richard Nixon
Release Date:
December 29, 2004
Limited release
Movie of the Day for Tuesday, October 26, 2004
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On the Big Board |
Position |
Staff |
In Brief |
38/133 |
Dan Krovich |
Some great performances in a bit of an uneven movie |
The Assassination of Richard Nixon is based on real events that occurred in February of 1974. Sam Bicke (Sean Penn) is a salesman for an office supply company, and his life is slowly unraveling before his very eyes. He's stuck in a dead-end job and his wife, Marie (Naomi Watts), has just left him. Making matters even worse, Sam's boss (Jack Thompson) keeps encouraging him to read self-help books, but Sam can’t help but believe that these tomes make a mockery of his state of mind.
Sam does have a few friends in the world. One of them is auto mechanic Bonny Simmons (Don Cheadle), who invents the idea for a tire shop on wheels with Sam. They don't have the money to finance the project, but Bicke has become aware of a small-business loan program that was instituted by Richard Nixon. Surely such a loan will be their key to success.
Unfortunately, that's not the case. Sam is denied the loan and he begins to obsess on Nixon. He is suspicious of the president's Vietnam policies and other various lies. Additionally, Sam is drawn to the Black Panther Party's "by any means necessary" form of political activism. In the end, Sam decides that only he can stop the president - and the means he chooses to do so are the most extreme imaginable.
The Assassination of Richard Nixon was directed and co-written by Niels Mueller, who received quite a bit of attention in 2002 for his indie flick Tadpole. The film premiered at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. (Kim Hollis/BOP)
Vital statistics for The Assassination of Richard Nixon |
Main Cast |
Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Don Cheadle |
Supporting Cast |
Mykelti Williamson, Michael Wincott, Jack Thompson, Brad Henke, Jared Dorrance, Nick Searcy, Jenna Milton, Mariah Massa, Teresa Anne Volgenau, Melissa Saltzman |
Director |
Niels Muller |
Screenwriter |
Niels Muller, Kevin Kennedy |
Distributor |
ThinkFilm |
Trailer |
Click Here for Trailer
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Official Site |
http://www.thinkfilmcompany.com/ |
Rating |
R |
Running Time |
95 minutes |
Screen Count |
5 |
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Talent in red has entry in The Big Picture |
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