Years before P.T. Anderson would conscript him into his dubious troupe, Philip Baker Hall starred this one-man show with all guns blazing, and reprised the role for Robert Altman's film version. It's a real stunner all around, and has only taken on more substance since Hall has risen from theater obscurity and Altman has pulled himself out of the deep and sprawling rock-bottom of his career to emerge as an acknowledged elder statesman. I like Altman, but the sheer breadth of his movies can be seriously tiresome. Secret Honor inverts his usual approach by applying the sprawl to a single person as opposed to, like, a whole city. Mostly, Altman stays out of the way while Hall goes fucking nutso on Nixon, offering nothing like a studied portrait, but rather a searing indictment that is both partisan and deeply emotional. You have to be in the mood for it, but Secret Honor is a must-see all around. Perhaps the best possible bet is to watch it as a double-feature with Dick and/or Nixon. Eh, fuck Nixon … Dick is pretty goddamn funny.
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