When I'm watching a true story put to film, I always find it intriguing what is real, what's been pumped up a little bit for the purposes of attempting to making a good film, and what's complete crap.

That thought kept running through my mind during Frost/Nixon, the Ron Howard film that chronicles the struggle that David Frost (Michael Sheen) and his team went through to interview Richard Nixon (Frank Langella) after his presidency had ended in the ashes of the Watergate scandal.

The flick is nominated for four Oscars, including Langella for Best Actor, Howard for Best Director, Peter Morgan for adapting his original Broadway play for the screen, and Best Picture. Sam Rockwell and Oliver Platt join Sheen as the team that tries to put Nixon away with words and debate and, in the words of Rockwell's character, "give Richard Nixon the trial he never had." On the opposite side, they have the foreboding Nixon, played pitch-perfectly by Langella and Kevin Bacon as Nixon's right hand man and protector, both physically and emotionally.

The film approaches the events in a talking heads/flashback form, something that lends itself better to the stage, but still works on screen. It starts about a month before the interview and spends the rest of the film giving a blow-by-blow of the out-of-his-league British journalist and the disgraced, evil politician.

This film is, without a doubt, right in my wheelhouse. I think, when they wrote the script, under the title was a little dedication, "For Phil" because it was meant for me: A political plot, mixed with journalism, an underdog story and several deep discussions on the way words can be used to get a point across...all partially/mostly true. Frost/Nixon takes what might be a boring concept to some and turns it into the ultimate competition, with everything on the line for both people involved.

Langella has gotten the most attention for his portrayal of Nixon, which isn't an impersonation but more of an amalgamation of parts of Nixon: his mannerisms, parts of his looks, and, for the most part, his larger-than-life personality. It's easy to say, and probably true, that without Langella, Frost/Nixon isn't the exciting/inspiring piece of film it turns out to be.

But, really the shining light of this film for me was Sam Rockwell. How does this guy NOT get more work?! He's a chameleon. He can take any role he's given and knock it out of the park, which is exactly what he does here. Every scene he's in, including talking head moments where he's talking about the past, is completely engrossing and exciting.

Frost/Nixon isn't an essential to see in the theater, but it's definitely a must-see, if not for the amazing performances and quick moving, inspiring script.