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It shouldn’t take much discussion to convince people that American media’s current model for discussing politics is broken. Yet, in spite of their subjects and their audience, directors Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville spend 88 brisk minutes doing just that. Recounting the events surrounding the 10 tense political debates between American political writers William F. Buckley and Gore Vidal in 1968, Best of Enemies is a film that utilizes the events of the past to explain the present.
But first, some history.
In 1968, America was a nation in transition. On Jan. 30, North Vietnam—the side that would eventually win the war—launched the Tet Offensive against South Vietnam and the United States, signalling the beginning of the end of that conflict. On April 4, a young black preacher protesting for the rights of black Americans was assassinated in Memphis. On June 6, a member of a prominent American political family—and also the man many believed would secure the Democratic nomination to lead America as president—was assassinated in the kitchen of the Los Angeles Ambassador Hotel.
Amidst all of this turmoil, amidst all of this conflict, and amidst all of this political turbulence, 1968 was also an election year that saw 31.7 million Americans successfully cast their ballots for the one man who would irrevocably change the face of the American presidency: Richard Nixon.
Instead of touching on the landmark events of 1968, Gordon’s and Neville’s film focuses on the events surrounding the 1968 Republican and Democratic National Conventions.
Capitalizing on the prominence of the two writers, ABC News hired obstinately right-wing Buckley and defiantly left-wing Vidal to debate the events of each day of both conventions. Two conventions, five days per convention, 10 debates, and a media circus that changed the way American networks broadcasted politics—that’s the subject that Neville and Gordon choose to focus on.
I’ve always been of the mind that the best documentaries are those that care about their subjects. Blackfish cares about orcas in captivity, Somm cares about the struggles undertaken by those studying to be master sommeliers, and Jiro Dreams of Sushi is practically in love with its main character. In an almost familial way, Gordon and Neville’s film cares deeply about Buckley and Vidal. Interviewing their biographers, their friends, their family members, and their recalcitrant fans, Best of Enemies is as much a loving biographical film about the two writers as it is a condemnation of the manner in which the two simply couldn’t cooperate—on-air and in print.
The film combines elements of their on-air appearances, with excerpts from their books and newspaper columns to paint an unabating portrait of the two commentators as mortal enemies. Rather than make the safe choice of hiring impersonators to deliver Buckley’s hallmark transatlantic accent, Gordon and Neville cast John Lithgow to fill the role. Likewise, the patrician and polished Vidal is played by Kelsey Grammar—an actor whose characteristic baritone could have served as an imposition, but that flows as some of Grammar’s finest voice work.
If it at all seems like I’m ignoring the aforementioned terse American political climate, it’s only because Best of Enemies correctly chooses to ignore all but those events that provide contextual details for the hatred between Vidal and Buckley.
In spite of the fact that Buckley and Vidal are today recognized as some of America’s most influential political thinkers, it’s undeniable that their affiliations and ideologies are greatly influenced by their positions on the political scale.
Whereas the left-wing Vidal was known for his vociferous support of the civil rights movement, Buckley’s own opinions were less favourable. Furthermore, Vidal’s fluid interpretations of sexuality—as well as his own un-heteronormative beliefs—stood in stark contrast to Buckley’s more traditional opinions of human love. Their opposition ultimately came to a head during their ninth debate when Buckley called Vidal a “queer” on-air, following the insult with a threat that Buckley would “sock [Vidal] in [his] face and [he’ll] stay plastered.” What quickly followed was the admonition that, while Vidal certainly hadn’t won the war, he had still defeated his opponent.
Ultimately, Gordon’s and Neville’s film argues that it was those 10 debates between Buckley and Vidal that led to the rise of nightly news shows dedicated to screaming head debates. Suffice it to say, prior to this year’s American election, there were few American politicos as different or as contentious as Buckley and Vidal.
Photo courtesy of Media Ranch and Tremolo Productions.