“18½” Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla (@Rmediavilla). #18andahalfMovie @DanMirvish @18andAHalf
When I started watching the project, I came in completely blind, with zero expectations, and came out absolutely blown away with what I saw. Nothing from the movie screams indie filmmaking, the cast is amazing, the script is tight, and the production design is superb.
To this day, no one knows who erased the 18½-minute gap in the Nixon Watergate tapes or why they were erased. Once the gap was discovered Nixon’s presidency quickly unwound.
The film 181⁄2 is historical fiction. None of the main characters seen in the movie ever existed. That said, the 181⁄2-minute tape heard in the film are based on contemporaneous Nixon tapes and the historical record since that time. Sometimes truth is indeed stranger than fiction.
Let’s talk about the cast first, again what an amazing cast for a “indie” movie, Willa Fitzgerald John Magaro, Vondie Curtis Hall, Catherine Curtin, Richard Kind, Ted Raimi, Jon Cryer and Bruce Campbell. This is Willa Fitzgerald movie, she shines from beginning to finish, but the supporting cast all did a great job to build the story, especially in that third act, which I will get into it later in this review.
The production design is one of the stand outs of this movie. I absolutely was blown away how they were able to recreate the Nixon years, taking into consideration the budget limitations for an “indie movie”, but not only that being in productions shortly before the whole lockdown began. I was amaze on how much time and dedication they took to make every single detail seem as legit and authentic as possible to represent the times the story is trying to tell.
Story wise is where I feel it may not click with everyone. As a historical thriller, and more importantly one that is taking a different approach to the Watergate event, I feel mostly crime & conspiracy mystery enthusiasms will enjoy the project, because most of them will see themselves in the characters shoes. Asking themselves what you would do if you were in that position?
The performances specially by Willa Fitzgerald John Magaro, Vondie Curtis Hall, & Catherine Curtin are excellent, and more importantly in that third act. While many can see the third act coming, I strongly believe nobody would expect the third act to be that physical. Understanding where the story was going, I was expecting that head-to-head confrontation to happen, but never in my wildest thought, I would have imagen for director Dan Mirvish to have these amazing actors going one-on-one so physically with each other.
“18½” is a movie that shines in all the right places, even though it may not click with everyone. The production design and third act are superb, and the cast is just simply amazing for an indie movie.
