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      The Assassination of Richard Nixon

      R Released Dec 29, 2004 1 hr. 45 min. Drama List
      68% 131 Reviews Tomatometer 69% 10,000+ Ratings Audience Score Samuel Bicke (Sean Penn) is a disillusioned salesman whose elaborate views of honesty and morality alienate him from society. He purposely turns away customers, steals from his brother and ruins relationships with his wife (Naomi Watts) and his best friend (Don Cheadle). As Samuel's life spins out of control, he pinpoints Richard Nixon as the man responsible for capitalism and plans to assassinate the president by crashing an airliner into the White House. Read More Read Less
      The Assassination of Richard Nixon

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      Critics Consensus

      The Assassination of Richard Nixon struggles to convey deeper meaning, but a fascinating true story and compelling Sean Penn performance are worthy compensations.

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      Audience Reviews

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      GM Not only Sean Penn but the great Jack Thompson as well! Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review georgan g A long, slow burn to radical action. Sad to watch the loser lose everything. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Great to know history, Penn good. It could be better Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review John A Disturbing with misleading title. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 04/15/19 Full Review Audience Member "The Assassination of Richard Nixon" is about a man on a collision course; given the stark terms in which he arranges right and wrong, he will sooner or later crack up. He hasn't a clue about appropriate behavior, about how others perceive him, about what may be right but is nevertheless impossible. The movie's title has one effect before we see it, and another afterward, when we can see the grandiosity and self-deceit that it implies. What really happens is that Sam Bicke assassinates himself. 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. That is sufficient. A message might seem trundled in and gratuitous. Certainly our opinions of Nixon, Vietnam and the Black Panthers are irrelevant; they enter the movie only as objects of Bicke's obsessions. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/16/23 Full Review Audience Member Penn spellbinding in an otherwise lacklustre picture. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Critics Reviews

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      Empire Magazine Rated: 4/5 Apr 1, 2006 Full Review Independent (UK) Rated: 4/5 Apr 9, 2005 Full Review Roger Moore Orlando Sentinel Sean Penn brings this obscure failure back to life in a vivid portrayal of a madman in the making, a madman who had a date with a gun and history. Rated: 4/5 Feb 11, 2005 Full Review Alberto Abuín Espinof The film delivers a highly enjoyable thing: Sean Penn's portentous performance. [Full Review in Spanish] Jun 28, 2019 Full Review Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com Debut writer/director Neils Mueller (co-writer on "Tadpole") stitches together an ambiguous meditation on the pervasive affects of government corruption during the Nixon Administration that led a Baltimore man to attempt to kill the President by hijacking Rated: C- Apr 18, 2009 Full Review Joe Lozito Big Picture Big Sound Rated: 3/4 Jul 14, 2007 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis Samuel Bicke (Sean Penn) is a disillusioned salesman whose elaborate views of honesty and morality alienate him from society. He purposely turns away customers, steals from his brother and ruins relationships with his wife (Naomi Watts) and his best friend (Don Cheadle). As Samuel's life spins out of control, he pinpoints Richard Nixon as the man responsible for capitalism and plans to assassinate the president by crashing an airliner into the White House.
      Director
      Niels Mueller
      Screenwriter
      Kevin Kennedy, Niels Mueller
      Distributor
      ThinkFilm
      Production Co
      Appian Way, Anhelo Productions
      Rating
      R (Scene of Graphic Violence|Language)
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Dec 29, 2004, Original
      Release Date (DVD)
      Apr 26, 2005
      Box Office (Gross USA)
      $697.8K
      Sound Mix
      Surround