Secret Honor (1984)

Too much of everything

Memorable, crazy movie

Good start, but then it gets ruined

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

"Secret Honor" is an actor's wet dream.This screen adaptation of a one-man play stars Philip Baker Hall as Richard Nixon on the dark night that follows his resignation from the office of President of the United States. The film makes clear from the outset that it is not a representation of facts but rather a fictional exploration of the thoughts and feelings that may have been torturing Nixon at the time. Hall has the screen to himself and gives a fierce, if rather one-note, performance. The material isn't very deep and doesn't give Hall a lot of room to explore, but I suppose it succeeds on its own modest terms.Robert Altman made this film at the apex of his disenfranchisement from the mainstream Hollywood system. He filmed it at the University of Michigan with the assistance of Michigan students, and the tiny budget and minimal resources show. It's not remotely cinematic, though Altman makes a solid effort to make it so. Though the action is confined to Nixon's private office, Altman frequently pans his camera over to a bank of security cameras that Nixon has trained on himself, so that much of the time we're watching an image of Hall on a T.V. monitor rather than Hall himself. The message is clear -- Nixon, and by extension any politician, is constantly performing, even in his most private moments. Once one takes the oath of the presidency, he can't ever stop being the president. How good a job would any one of us do under similar circumstances, and how harshly do we have the right to judge our leaders?Admittedly, much of my lack of enjoyment of "Secret Honor" is my own fault. It made me realize how little I actually know about Nixon's presidency, which was over in the years just before I was born, and I wasn't able to understand many of the film's references. As is often the case, my knowledge of the more distant past is greater than events that have occurred within my lifetime.Grade: B

I love many Altman films, but was disappointed by "Secret Honor." Described as a work of "fiction" that uses Nixon as a "character," it still depends heavily on actual facts from Nixon's life to succeed and there is the constant danger of blurring fact and fiction. It's a claustrophobic experience in that it's basically a one-man show put on film, despite the introduction of some elements such as video monitors on the set to make the production slightly more cinematic.I attended a presentation of the film after which the director made some comments. Seeing Altman in person was fascinating. His dedication to developing and completing the project was impressive. He said that he had chosen not to open up the play and that he'd mount the production in the same way today. I disagree with his choice, as did the woman who posed the question, but they both were gracious, which is something to see these days. I also think the play on which the film is based is overwritten. Some people in the audience seemed to be under the impression that merely because a film has a lot of dialogue it instantly qualifies as art. If a film has only one character and is pure monologue, the speeches must be brilliant throughout. That was not the case here. Even as a work of "imagination" the film didn't ring true to me. Would a lawyer really say to himself that if he had actually gone to jail for Watergate, at least he would have been free after the experience? Lawyers know that's not true: Having served your time doesn't extinguish the public record; and Nixon was, by many accounts, a brilliant lawyer and a brilliant man, but there's the tragedy.Even little details at the start played false. Nixon is seen as a bumbler who can't even insert a blank tape into his tape recorder. From what I understand, he was pretty anal compulsive, so as a bit of character definition, that business made no sense. I also didn't understand what he was doing wearing a velvet dressing gown if he was working in his office in a law firm. Other small details are dated: Alger Hiss did in fact spy for the Soviets, whether or not Nixon was out to get him as was suggested at the perjury trial.Still, the portrait of Nixon was a far more complex and generous one than might have been expected for 1984. As an offering in this highly charged political season, "Secret Honor" is worth seeing. P.B. Hall's performance is very strong, although I kept saying to myself throughout, that's the man from "Magnolia." For me, the best section was when Fictional Nixon took himself to task for destroying Helen Gahagan Douglas's political career by suggesting she was a communist when she ran against him from California for a U.S. Senate seat. There seemed to be a deep undercurrent of affection. But am I the only one who thought the piece also was suggesting that Nixon may have been latently gay?"Secret Honor" is not one of Altman's best. For Nixon mythology in cinema, my favorite is still Oliver Stone's "Nixon."

Not to say too much about Secret Honor: just know that it is an amazingly written monologue with amazing acting by Philip Baker Hall and amazing direction by Robert Altman. One might accuse Hall of overacting, but you should remember that this is stage acting. It's exaggerated, but that's the way stage acting works. Of course, Richard Nixon was pretty damn insane, so maybe this isn't overacting at all! The writing builds a lot of pathos for Nixon, which you wouldn't expect, while not letting him off any hook. And the ending kicks a lot of ass. F*ck 'em!!! The third best Altman film I've seen, after Nashville and 3 Women. 10/10.P.S. - It was a bit difficult to understand, since I am not 100% familiar with Nixon and the era. If you don't know anything about this stuff, just avoid it.

The best film ever made on Nixon, or any president. A film which is an entire monologue by Philip Baker Hall, one of the best character actors of our time. While, like Anthony Hopkins, he doesn't LOOK like Nixon, his performance helps you look beyond it. As he staggers around the oval office, cursing his enemies and talking to ghosts, staring into his monitors, you get the resonance of the real Nixon, and you even begin to feel sorry for him. It opens the myth of Nixon wide to reveal a man beneath the icon, and is a simultaneously thrilling and dramatic film. Altman's film has been out of print for at least a decade, but it far surpasses Oliver Stone's film and is worth watching for anyone who ever wanted to appreciate Nixon as anything other than a monster.