Nixon. 1995. USA. Directed by Oliver Stone. Screenplay by Stephen J. Rivele, Christopher Wilkinson, Stone. With Anthony Hopkins, Joan Allen, Powers Booth. 191 min.
As controlled and unruffled as President Richard M. Nixon seemed in his many television appearances, behind the scenes, he was anything but imperturbable. He secretly dogged his enemies, blamed his own insecurities on anyone who bested him, and remained distant with his own family. According to film critic Roger Ebert, Nixon mirrors Citizen Kane in its search for what drives a towering figure to his ultimate defeat—and Ebert postulates that the missing 18.5 minutes on the White House tapes would more than likely reveal the bête noire. The true revelation in this film (which is, of course, a work of fiction informed by fact) is Pat Nixon’s resilient and direct comportment.