In “Elvis & Nixon”, we get the untold true story behind the meeting between the King of Rock ‘n Roll and President Nixon, resulting in this revealing, yet humorous moment immortalized in the most requested photograph in the national archives. On a December morning in 1970, the King of Rock ‘n Roll, Elvis Presley, showed up on the lawn of the White House to request a meeting with the most powerful man in the world, President Nixon. With an agenda to combat the recent drug trafficking increase, Presley proposes becoming an undercover secret service agent for the country, while trying to restore its place as the most powerful nation in the world. Putting their differences in lifestyles to the side, the two men share an afternoon discussion of espionage, music and Dr Pepper. Starring Academy Award® nominee Michael Shannon as Elvis Presley and two-time Academy Award® winner Kevin Spacey as Richard Nixon. “Elvis & Nixon” is directed by Liza Johnson, and rated R for adult language and themes
Johnson’s effort doesn’t go unnoticed in a short, but sweet parallel universe that she has created here. To anyone who takes this film or its material seriously, you have completely missed the point of satirical humor. Instead, the movie takes a factual event from history and crafts its own kind of tale to go along with it. One shouldn’t watch “Elvis & Nixon” for accuracies anymore than you would watch “Bubba Ho-Tep” for Elvis’s life story. The film really garners a great representation for the decade that changed everything on American policies moving forward, and Liza certainly has crafted a charming, yet personal look into two of the most polarizing figures of their respective decade.
First of all, this is an idea that is really stretched as thin as it possibly could be. At 81 minutes long, the movie is an easy sit that doesn’t have a lot of lag time due to its quick approach. Had this film been even ten minutes longer, I feel like the movie would’ve started to drag on its paper-thin plot. There’s nothing too complex about an hour long meeting between the two men, so the film’s real creativity comes on how it graphs the events leading up to the big rendezvous. The actual meeting itself doesn’t take place until there is 25 minutes left in the movie, and it’s in that final act where the movie won me over from a decent film to a worthy watch.
The film’s screenplay is a little uneven, and what I mean by that is the first fifty minutes of the movie just doesn’t hit as accurate with its comic material as it does during the clashing of Elvis and Nixon. We certainly know what we’re here to see, so really the build up to the day just serves as an added bonus. The film definitely lagged when the two men are apart, proving that the parts aren’t as great as the sum in this case. Instead of comedy, we are shown instead a peek into the lives of these two, and while different, they are very similar in terms of imposing statures in a world that seems to be moving in a different direction. The movie reminded me of a simpler time, one without cell phones or media technology to really capture this rare occurance.
On the subject of style, the film has some really captivating cinematography. In between cut-edit sequences, Johnson dazzles us with archived footage of 70’s landscapes, complete with grainy footage that while it doesn’t sync up well with the quality of the camera work of the film, does accurately depict the days before the dawn of the technological age. For the designs of the movie, Production designer Mara Lapere-Schloop grants us a colorful tribute to the flower generation, with accurate wardrobes, fresh buildings as far as the eye can see, and camera work that offers a soft graze in quality. The lighting really captures the authenticity of the era it spoofs, and Schloop certainly has a strong eye for detail.
The performances hit the scale on different ends of the spectrum for positive reasonings. Michael Shannon is certainly the oddest choice for The King, and I was curious to see to deal with his performance considering a lot of people I know are bashing it for its lack in authenticity. Shannon might not visually impress as Elvis the man, but as the superstar he is every bit of legend that you’ve ever heard. The movie does a solid job of communicating the kind of presence that this man had, not just as a musician, but as a hearthrob hero to so many of the people he encounters. Nixon is the one guy who doesn’t care about that, and the combination of Shannon and Spacey is more than enough to see the frame-by-frame collision of quirks to the men they portray. Spacey gives what is one of the very best Nixon portrayals visually and actively that I have ever seen. The transformation that Kevin undertook to perfect the vocal range, as well as visual prosthetics for Dick, grants the kind of movie magic bestowed upon us once in a while where we forget we are watching an actor. This is certainly a lighter- hearted Nixon than the real thing, but it would be impossible for that Spacey charm not to come out in any role he takes on. The supporting roles also pack a punch. Colin Hanks steals the show with many straight-man reactions to the superstars he comes in the middle of. Colin kept reminding me that this movie was a comedy, even when the screenplay sometimes forgot. His personality fits well with the 70s biopic, and he is a very important addition to the film’s progression.
One disappointment that I had came with the lack of material or development for Johnny Knoxville and Evan Peters. The film introduces them, and then just kind of leaves them as facial reactions for the third act that simply has nothing for them creatively. Their roles almost seem pointless considering how much the movie focuses on establishing the friendships of Elvis and Jerry (Alex Pettyfer), and Nixon and Krogh (Hanks).
“Elvis & Nixon” isn’t the greatest film about either counterpart, but Johnson has a gift for telepathing the strange of such an unordinary meeting, and her film is an imaginitve spectacle. The film may lack a lot in factual storytelling, but it triumphs in quirky humor too strange not enjoy.
7/10