The power of Close Up

Frost Nixon is an amazing piece of cinema. Imagine making a whole film based on a set of interviews. How difficult it can be? The character of David Frost itself is so beautifully sketched. A talk-show host taking on a former President, but that’s not it - watch how Nixon butchers Frost in the interviews almost contrary to what audience is actually waiting to see.

Ron Howard is in amazing command in the final lap. The use of close ups and silences. Richard Nixon, the president on television, his face swollen indicating self-loathe. How many such great interviews have taken place on television? The other day I was watching that “over enthu” journalist called Arnab Goswami and how he was interviewing Narendra Modi. Arnab was obviously like a student who was told to shut up and listen, whereas normally he is charging like a bull on some small-time MPs and spokespersons of any party. But look how easily he gave up against whom he should actually have been charging or performing his gimmicks.

The power of Close up reminds me of this year’s best film “Luck By Chance”. Observe how every sequence in the film ends with a close up and a silence. The silence speaks so much when it comes during a Close Up and add to it that Close Up actually ends the conversation or the scene for you - thus leaving so much for you to grope/guess/imagine. Amazing are the elements of cinema. Isn’t it? And for more on Close Up, please watch one of my favourite director’s best films “Close Up”