Sean Penn gives yet another remarkable performance as troubled soul Sam Bicke in Niels Mueller's debut feature film, THE ASSASSINATION OF RICHARD NIXON. As the Watergate scandal is breaking and President Nixon can be seen all over the television and newspapers, Bicke struggles to earn money as an office furniture salesman as he tries to win back his estranged wife, Marie (a brunette Naomi Watts). He has grand plans of starting a mobile tire store with his friend Bonny (Don Cheadle), but he is so blinded by truth and honesty that he stands in the way of his own potential success. His rage continues to build as he sees another man spending time with Marie and the kids until he cannot control it any longer and resolves to kill Nixon, whom he blames for all of society's ills. Mueller, who cowrote the script with Kevin Kennedy, tells the story in a series of flashbacks as Bicke dictates into a tape recorder the sad details of his life to composer Leonard Bernstein, the only person he thinks will understand him. Penn immerses himself in this difficult, challenging role, playing a simple man on the verge of exploding. From the way he covets his mustache to how he reacts when he's around Marie, Penn embodies Bicke, who sees himself as representative of the loss of the American dream. Based on true events, the film also deals with the racism and sexism that was rampant in the early-to-mid-1970s.

JANUARY 14, 2005 (EXPANDS)

DVD Features:

Region (unknown)
Keep Case
Full Frame - 1.85
Audio:
Dolby Surround Stereo 2.0 English
Dolby Surround 5.1 English
Additional Release Material:
Director Commentary

Distributor Notes: Based on real life events, Assassination is set in 1974 and centers on a businessman (Penn) who decides to take extreme measures to achieve his American dream.

Source: Warner Home Video

Sean Penn: Actor, Director
Naomi Watts: Actress
Don Cheadle: Actor
Jack Thompson: Australian Actor
Brad Henke: Actor, THE ASSASSINATION OF RICHARD NIXON (2004)
Nick Searcy: 
Michael Wincott: British Supporting Actor
Mykelti Williamson: Star, ATL (2006)
April Grace: Actress
Leonardo DiCaprio: American Actor - What's Eating Gilbert Grape?/Titanic

Niels Mueller: Screenwriter, TADPOLE (2002)

Alfonso Cuaron: Director/Asst. Director
Jorge Vergara: Producer, Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN (2001)

Niels Mueller: Screenwriter, TADPOLE (2002)
Kevin Kennedy: Screenwriter, THE ASSASSINATION OF RICHARD NIXON (2004)

"Mr. Penn, as is his wont, acts up a storm with the aid of some facial embellishment..."
"Dark and eerily resonant....[The film] crawls under your skin and amps up the agitation until you want to jump out of it."
"Penn's performance is really a profound study of a particular type of loner that no one has pegged better: the sociopathic putz."
"[Penn is] understated and eloquent....This may be the leanest and most devastating performance of his career."
"[R]iveting....Penn makes it unthinkable to turn away."
"[W]ithin this lies one of the finest character studies you'll see. Penn is at his lightest and most intense..."