sergepesic This quiet, powerful movie is loosely based on the real events. Samuel Bicke, meek and obedient person with the intense hidden anger, is slowly unraveling. His marriage is dissolving, he hates his job and his obnoxious boss, the bank loan for starting a new business is rejected. Typical story of a man without his place in this world. God knows, there are hundreds of millions of people like him on this unfortunate planet. But, something made this man stand apart and try to kill the president Nixon. The attempt itself would be called inane if innocent people weren't killed.The tragic ending to a sad life story. This intense movie uses a perfect language to tell this story, so pertinent to the times we live in.More and more lost souls, and the future looks far away from rosy. Millions of question and none of the answers.

darjeeling_myworld The modern Taxi Driver.If this film had been released in the 70s alongside Taxi Driver and the likes of Coppola's The Conversation, it would have been much more acclaimed. Sadly, this one is now lost among the last decade of indie dramas, high-concept blockbusters and Sean Penn's two Oscar winning performances. His best work though, is here, as Sam Bicke. He's incredibly powerful, essentially carrying the film on his shoulders. He's in every single scene and there wasn't one time I looked away from the screen. There are several incredibly powerful moments but his breakdown at work ("It's about money Dick! Money!") is just staggering. Don Cheadle and Naomi Watts are also good in well written but obvious roles. The direction by Mueller is also brilliant, perfectly creating a feeling of isolation and failure. We feel like we're in the same position with Bicke, an outsider looking in on a world prepared to lie and back-stab in order to get to the top. The cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki (Y Tu Mama Tambien, The New World) is also brilliant and has the same effect, creating a dark world for its inhabitants. Finally the structure of the script along with the exemplary editing by Jay Cassidy creates a feeling of repetition - the endless cycle of day to day life that leads Bicke to his actions. A haunting, masterful drama, a modern masterpiece and successor and superior to Taxi Driver.

poweller Being a huge fan of Sean Penn's performances ('Milk', 'Mystic River' etc) and more specifically '21 Grams' starring Penn and Naomi Watts I picked this film up with high expectations purely on the premise of Penn and Watts reunited on screen, needless to say, it does not disappoint! The film has the rare accolade of being set several decades earlier (1974) in the middle of the Nixon regime, yet still containing themes that are just as relevant in 2010; Racism, Power Struggles, Terrorism (particularly post 9/11, although ironically the film was being scripted before this).Focusing on 'average-Joe' salesman Samuel Bicke (Penn) the film focuses on one man's despairing breakdown as he searches for 'a little piece of the American dream'. Bicke goes through a series of jobs and is a failing salesman due to his strong morals in equality and honesty.The cinematography is fantastic, as Bicke becomes more and more disillusioned the camera shows an increasing number of extreme close ups, serving to highlight the mental disintegration Bicke is going through. The score throughout is also chilling and works seamlessly with the mannerisms of Bicke against the backdrop of several close ups of President Nixon on the TV representing everything Bicke has come to hate. The editing is also superbly paced, speeding up as Bicke becomes more and more despondent with the world around him and we reach the harrowing final scene.It is a testament to the incredible talent of Penn that whilst his characters actions would stereotype him as a traditional villain you are left feeling nothing but empathy for Bicke and will be questioning your own notions of morality long after the credits role, even more so with the irony that such is Bicke's desire to support his family that he is dishonest on more than one occasion in his desire to provide for those closest to him. Naomi Watts is equally brilliant as his ex wife and as usual Don Cheadle is superb as a friend, 'a grain of sand' as Bicke would say who accepts the world for what it is. There is also a fantastic performance by Bicke's boss, Jack Thompson.If you are a fan of thought provoking cinema then 'The Assassination Of Richard Nixon' is an absolute must see. Having only seen this film recently and on the back of watching both '21 Grams' and 'Milk' (of which Penn is simply superb in both) I don't believe it is to presumptuous to go as far as asking where Penn may be the greatest actor of his generation? This is definitely a film to watch again and again, and yet each time you do it raises more questions. The film has been a likened to 'Taxi Driver', released in the same period as Nixon is set and much like the success of that film I can see this one being just as highly thought of thirty years from now.

Al Rodbell Watching this film while depressed is amazing, as I did about an hour ago.Just as Bicke felt overwhelmed, that the world is against him, that's how I feel at the moment. (Note: my impulses are well under control, and transitory, but the emotion is similar) And I have to feel that Sean Penn had something like this in his own life to draw on, the vulnerability which leads to rageful hate.The scene where Bicke confronted his old boss while he was eating, and aimed the gun under the table.....I've never felt a desire to kill, but I have had the urge to hit someone to cause more than pain, but harm. Penn showed that glint of anticipatory pleasure as he was about to pull the trigger, a feeling that can't be faked.Everything about the film struck of absolute truth. Clinically, it may have been manic depression, with his manic belief in his portable tire store feeding his depression-rage when his business loan was rejected. Ultimately, after this failure and the divorce he was absolutely alone, with only his delusion of greatness by killing a world leader to sustain him.It was a pattern that was shared, ironically, with Lee Harvey Oswald, whose dreams of glory were not to be; and his job as a shipping clerk was a constant unbearable reminder of his failure. When the accident of a parade route planed only after he had been at his lowly job for months gave him the opportunity to be remembered forever by a simple squeeze of a trigger.The reality of Sam Bicke, the film following the actual event rather closely, should dispel the now widely believed conspiracy theories of JFK's death. They all create a complex web of intrigue to emotionally balance the death of America's President. The life of Sam Bicke reflects the tortured distorted existence of JFK's murderer. There is no need for an improbable conspiracy of Mafioso and high government officials to explain that event.As in this assassination that never happened, the one that did shows how the confluence of human anguish and adventitious opportunity can shape history. Bicke's actions, as depicted in this masterful film, were more than believable, they were inevitable. If the story of Lee Harvey Oswald were ever told with such skill, his actions would be finally understood, and the damage done to historiography by Oliver Stone's calumnious "JFK" would be corrected for posterity.