Almost infamous

In 1974, a deeply disturbed man named Samuel Byck tried to hijack a plane at Baltimore-Washington International Airport. His plan was to assassinate then-President Richard M. Nixon by flying the plane into the White House.

The plane never got off the ground, but the incident ended with the deaths of several people, including Byck, of a self-inflicted wound.

The Assassination of Richard Nixon, directed by Niels Mueller, is a serious character study that asks, "What makes a man do such a thing?"

With a fearless performance by Sean Penn as Byck (renamed Samuel Bicke), the movie delves deep into the mind of its lead character as he metamorphoses from a sad-sack loser into a full-blown psychopath who could have changed history if things had gone his way.

But things never go Sam’s way, as the film shows in sometimes-excruciating detail. Sam is one of those guys who just can’t get a break. Separated from his wife Marie (Naomi Watts), he has a genius for turning situations from bad to worse. His only friend in the world is Bonny (Don Cheadle), the owner of an auto-repair shop with whom Sam hopes to open a business someday. When everything seems to fall apart at once, Sam spirals into madness, coming to the "realization" that President Nixon is to blame for his problems.

The Assassination of Richard Nixon is at its best in the first half, when it is more of an earnest character study of this poor creature. Losers seldom plan to be that way and we initially are able to root for Sam to get his life together. It is to Penn’s credit that audiences are compelled to do this despite already knowing the outcome.

The first part of the film even veers close to dark comedy as this modern-day Sisyphus encounters obstacle after obstacle with no hope of ever getting anywhere. Although Penn is known as a chameleon-like actor, his transformation into Bicke is so complete that it’s a little scary.

In the second half, the movie, not unlike Bicke’s life, comes apart.

As amazing as Penn is, both his character and film eventually make the audience uncomfortable. It’s just too far out there.

One scene featuring character actor extraordinaire Michael Wincott as Sam’s estranged brother, Julius, hints at what the film could have been. It delivers the power that is lacking from the rest of the movie.

In an age of mindless action movies and paint-by-numbers remakes, we need more movies like The Assassination of Richard Nixon. But we need them to be good, too.

The Assassination of Richard Nixon
R
Playing at Ritz Theaters
Two-and-a-half reels out of four

Recommended rental

Ray
PG-13
Available Tuesday

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