Dan Mirvish’s latest film, 18 1/2, constructs the narrative amid Watergate as a White House transcriber and seemingly obtains the only known copy of the infamous 18 1/12 minute gap of the Nixon tapes. 

I’m a sucker for politically driven narratives with such classics as ‘All The President’s Men’ and ‘Good Night and Good Luck’, so when I read the synopsis for the newest film by Dan Mirvish, I already sensed I was going to enjoy the trip. The structure is straightforward; the film is lean and very effective in bringing tension. The main protagonists are against the clock, trying to hear the mythical Nixon tape that will undoubtedly reveal all the dirty secrets that never saw the light of day.  The film begins quickly by recapping the situation at hand. The Watergate Scandal is unfolding, and Connie (Willa Fitzgerald) is preparing to meet Paul (John Magaro), a reporter that wants to uncover crucial information hidden in the tape she got from her workplace. The banter the two leads have is tight, efficient, and establishes who they are as characters while leaving room for the audience to explore the deeper layers they are hiding from one another. 

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