Review: ’18 And A Half’ runs high on aesthetic fumes

Rose Mary Woods served as President Nixon’s private secretary. During investigations into the Watergate scandal, she claimed that she accidentally taped over 18 and a half minutes of tape — a tape recorded three days after the infamous break-in into the Democratic National Convention headquarters. Her suspicious admission still remains a mystery all these years later. Those 18 and a half minutes of tape become the centerpiece of a new thriller/comedy from director Dan Mirvish, who co-wrote the script with Daniel Moya. 18½ is far less about the actual Nixon tapes than it is about two desperate people searching for meaning and importance in life.

Willa Fitzgerald plays Connie, a mid-level transcriptionist tasked with mulling through a box of tapes. During a late night shift, Connie stumbles across a mysterious tape allegedly recorded in a conference room of the White House. The voices she hears are President Richard Nixon (Bruce Campbell), Chief of Staff H.R. “Bob” Haldeman (Jon Cryer), and General Al Haig (Ted Raimi), whose strongly guarded conversations have been something of lore in the socio-political space. But we never get a full glimpse into those — because, well, those conversations have been forever lost to time and human error. So instead, the film pivots into an undercover operation led by Connie and a secret rendezvous with New York Times reporter Paul (John Magaro). Together, the unlikely pair tumble down into the dark underbelly of deceit and political corruption from which neither are likely to return.

Courtesy of a skilled crew, including production designer Monica Dabrowski and costume designer Sarah Cogan, the film fully immerses the viewer into 1973. The style, ambiance, and overall candy-coated aesthetic are alluring enough to keep you hooked from start to emotional finish. Despite a very loose plot line, simply following Connie and Paul as they hole up in a seedy motel for the night to go over the lost tapes, Mirvish knows exactly how to sell a moody, low-scale story.

Once at the hotel Connie and Paul, posing as newly-weds Ruth and Archie, they befriend another couple, Lena (Catherine Curtin) and Samuel (Vondie Curtis Hall), who have particular interests in wine and sexual exploits. When invited for dinner, Connie/Ruth and Paul/Archie oblige, as their daring new friends have a tape player. Through the evening, their make believe as actual lovebirds opens the gates for an unexpected romance between two broken hearts. It’s a sweet addition to a story that has little other developments — until the finale, a surprisingly emotional blow-up.

Fitzgerald absolutely drives 18½ with a subdued, yet nuanced, performance, her magnetism perfectly met with Magaro’s weirdly oddball spin. They make quite a duo onscreen; one could almost call it electric in every single scene. When the chips are down, and the script requires it, Fitzgerald, in particular, cranks it up to 100. Enough so, she’ll rip your heart out in the final shot.

18½ is now playing in theaters nationwide and hits VOD on July 5

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