Genre: Drama, Psychodrama, Political
Plot: A chilling drama that explores and exposes the dark side of the American Dream, THE ASSASSINATION OF RICHARD NIXON focuses on the prescient and tragic true story of Sam Bicke (Penn), a disillusioned "everyman" who, in 1974, was driven to plot the assassination of the 37th President of the United States. Despite the fact that his marriage is breaking up and that he is trapped in a sales job he finds demeaning, Sam tries desperately to succeed both at home and in the workplace; all he wants is to win his family back and to start a business of his own. However, in a society worn down by political corruption and the Vietnam War, there is not much room left for dreamers. Sam's world unravels against the backdrop of the Watergate scandal, which exposes culpability at the highest levels of society. With images of Nixon-- “the greatest salesman of them all”-- flooding the airwaves, Sam believes he has found the person responsible for his, and America’s, problems and makes his appointment with destiny. With this role, which is the diametric opposite to his Oscar-winning triumph in last year’s MYSTIC RIVER, Penn proves that he is at the very peak of his career, delivering a quietly explosive performance that is at once heartbreaking and horrifying. Though set in an America of thirty
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 Discussion forum for this movie
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 This is another movie where politics trump the narrative. Penn and the historical context will generate some interest, but the film's ultimate reception is likely to be as chilly as the month in which it receives its theatrical release (December 2004).  --James Berardinelli (ReelViews)
The Assassination of Richard Nixon would have us both understand and empathize with its despondent protagonist. Given Bicke’s pathological, irrational avoidance of accountability, I could only do the former.  --Nicholas Schager (FilmCritic.com)
Unlike many films that could do with a good 30 minutes of trimming, I would have welcomed another half-hour of back story to augment "Assassination"'s spare 103 minutes of running time.  --Elaine Perrone (eFilmCritic.com)
'The Assassination of Richard Nixon," a slight movie and a major downer, is an acting showcase for Sean Penn. That's good, but not enough.--Jami Bernard (New York Daily News)
Penn is supposed to be needy and ingratiating in the role — a skittish, insecure bundle of nerves, stammering in a way that recalls the equally painful "I Am Sam." So at least he's playing the part the way he intended — but that doesn't necessarily mean anyone's going to want to watch him do it. C--Christy Lemire (TheJournalNews)
As it stands, The Assassination of Richard Nixon is a meticulous, unsettling character study that is all the stronger for its verisimilitude. Mueller won't become famous as a stylist, but he has a flair for cinematic reflections of the real world.--Eugene Novikov (FilmBlather)
Assassination is not an uplifting movie. It’s not inspirational. It’s not even particularly moving. It is, however, an unflinchingly honest, note-perfect character-study of a man with small dreams, and even smaller rewards. B--Jeff Wilser (TheCinemaSource)
Does the film have a message? I don't think it wants one. It is about the journey of a man going mad. A film can simply be a character study, as this one is.--Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun-Times)
The brilliant subtleties of this absorbing, must-see drama are best seen through Penn, who transforms a strongly nuanced script into the greatest performance of the year.--Aaron Hillis
Director Niels Mueller's attempt to create a middle-class "Taxi Driver" (he tips his hand a bit smugly by respelling Byck's name to evoke Travis Bickle) has a creepy, meticulous exactitude.--Owen Gleiberman (Entertainment Weekly)
The movie re-creates Sam’s miserable days with enough sympathy to come within hailing distance of such emblematic works of American disillusion as Arthur Miller’s "Death of a Salesman" and Saul Bellow's "Seize the Day."--David Denby (The New Yorker)
First-time director Niels Mueller and his co-screenwriter Kevin Kennedy depict Sam's disintegration expertly and they have fashioned a well-made picture with much to like.--Ray Bennett (Hollywod Reporter)
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| Cast |
Sean Penn
Mystic River, The Game, The Thin Red Line |
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 | Michael Wincott
Alien: Resurrection, The Crow, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves |
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 | Jack Thompson
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, Broken Arrow, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil | |
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| Penn's Bicke is often so pitiable it's hard not to want to look away – but what else to expect from perhaps our most compulsively watchable contemporary actor? --Kimberley Jones (Austin Chronicle)
That The Assassination of Richard Nixon is as well directed, acted and shot as it is makes Mr. Mueller's inability to invest his film with significance all the more disappointing.--Manohla Dargis (The New York Times)
The director and co-writer, Niels Mueller, has also done his work well, but the film feels insubstantial at 95 minutes, even though -- or maybe because -- it bristles with borrowed ideas and unavoidable associations.--Joe Morgenstern
Penn's magnetism and hesitant line delivery create what interest there is, although the whole picture suffers from a central figure who can never get it together on any level.--Todd McCarthy (Variety)
Penn is mostly in "I Am Sam mode" here, doing a lot of shoe-gazing and mumbly-talk, but not without adding an edge of bitter intelligence to his character; he's just too good an actor to merely repeat himself, even when the material encourages him to.--Ken Tucker
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