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Director Charles Ferguson ("Inside Job") meets with influential figures from Watergate, immersing himself deeply in the psyche spirit of Richard Nixon, who has allowed the abuse of power and the power of the game. Subsequent hindrance to the justice that ultimately forced his resignation in 1974. But if the hybrid approach he uses to weave in dramatized scenes is not a cancer in his documentary, but a brake on an otherwise account first order.
With regard to the insider's guide, it is difficult to ask for a better distribution of characters, among them journalists Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, Dan Rather, the assistants of Nixon White House, John Dean and Pat Buchanan, whistleblower Pentagon Papers, Daniel Elsberg, the late John McCain and former members of the Watergate Senate Committee, such as Lowell Weicker, to name a few.
But then, Ferguson gets involved by asking the actors to organize the Oval Office's recorded meetings, with Douglas Hodge in the role of Nixon, with sweaty upper lip and sometimes drunk and tied deliveries.
The problem is that we have seen many dramatic performances from this period, from "All Men of the President" to "Nixon", through "The Last Days" and, more recently, "The Post". Because there's such a treasure trove of videos and archival material, mix actors with Nixon's actual images – pronouncing now indelible phrases such as "I'm not a crook" – does not that scramble the cards, absolutely useless. fish-nor-poultry mode.
"Watergate" dramatically improves as the use of cassettes ceases, culminating in the Saturday Night Massacre – when Nixon decided to fire Special Attorney Archibald Cox, resulting in the resignation of the Attorney General. Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus (also among those interviewed).
Filmmakers vividly recreate this period in part through the eyes of young lawyers on the Cox team, such as Jill Wine-Banks and Richard Ben-Veniste, who remembers realizing: "The President we had not fired him, he had fired Archie ", and that Nixon would receive a lesson to know" do not play with the judicial system ".
Ferguson (who also tells the film) ends with a not-so-subtle reminder that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. In the press notes, he said that he started the project four years ago as a "historical detective story", while acknowledging that the issues were "urgent".
From this point of view, "Watergate" serves as a road map for understanding the biggest constitutional crisis the United States has experienced, at least so far, and reminds those who have taken a step forward – in the journalism and the government – at that time. Moreover, with so many of these key participants now in their seventies and eighties, the opportunity to interview them at length seems to be a real service.
At more than four hours without advertising, "Watergate" has a wealth of detail and depth admirable. If only Ferguson had enough confidence in the documentary aspects to let them talk to Nixon, without the useless embroidery, for themselves.
"Watergate" will be playing in New York and Los Angeles starting on October 12 and 19, respectively, before being broadcast on History on November 2.
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