Elvis & Nixon (2016)

If you can get past the ghastly appearance of Michael Shannon as Elvis, this isn't really a bad film. The brief real-life meeting of Elvis Presley and Richard Nixon turns into a whimsical look at both men, with lots of humor, some great period music, and some surprisingly poignant character moments featuring both American icons. I have nothing but respect for Michael Shannon. In a show like BOARDWALK EMPIRE, where he plays the rigid, fanatical, psychotic Federal Agent Nelson Van Alden, he's absolutely mesmerizing. But casting Michael Shannon as Elvis is like casting Boris Karloff as Rudolph Valentino. Shannon's Elvis is a ghastly-looking creature with a fake black wig that looks like it just died on the top of his head. And yet the first half hour of the movie is nothing but an endless procession of pretty girls blushing and fainting at the mere sight of him. It really starts the movie off on the wrong foot. On the other hand, Kevin Spacey is surprisingly effective as Richard Nixon. The movie has enormous fun playing with the double-sided fish out of water concept. Nixon is tough and confident when dealing with hard issues like war, politics, and money, but almost childishly insecure about his looks and sexuality. Elvis is completely at ease with his sex appeal and celebrity but almost childishly eager to prove himself as a "grown man."The real strength of this movie is that its best moments really are built on the way these two great heroes get to know each other. It's amazing that in real life they only spoke for fifteen or twenty minutes, but the movie makes you feel as if they're getting to know each other over a period of weeks. I loved when Nixon had a long speech by himself about how good-looking guys always make fun of him and how he hates them, yet when Elvis tells him he's not that bad looking he's incredibly flattered. By the same token, when Elvis talks about how much he has to offer as a "Federal Agent at large" you can see how Nixon goes way out of the way not to hurt his feelings, even as his face shows he realizes Elvis is really out there. While both the leads are incredible in this film, it's interesting that the younger men really steal the show at times. Colin Hanks as Bud Krogh and Alex Pettyfer as Jerry Schilling are both completely likable and believable in the role of loyal followers who try to help their heroes while carving out their own identities. If you can get past the awful casting of Michael Shannon as Elvis, there's a lot to enjoy about ELVIS & NIXON.

When the surviving Three-atles got together for a 16-minute conversation featured in The Beatles Anthology in 1995, they spent much of the time talking about another icon: Elvis. Like which of them met him last (George) and what he was like.So it figures that when Elvis himself met another icon, Richard Nixon, in the Oval Office in December 1970, they wound up talking about the Beatles, finding common ground on how much the two men disliked them."They may not actually be in the employ of the Communists, but if encouraging revolution doesn't sound like subversive behavior, I don't know what is," the King (Michael Shannon) tells a nodding 37 (Kevin Spacey).Whether this was the actual spark that transformed a trivial historical footnote into the stuff of legend is hard to say. But director Liza Johnson and the writers do what they can to make sure the viewer is amused and engaged.Two things lift this film out of its curious anecdotal substance: Sharp editing by Michael Taylor and Sabine Hoffman that pops off the screen with the help of a fine vintage Memphis-soul-infused score; and Shannon's solid performance as "E."It's true he doesn't look the part, or sound that much like Presley, but Shannon grounds his performance in Elvis's well-known sensitivity. He knows he's a star and will get the big treatment wherever he goes, and you can see he's uncomfortable with that, as well as the responsibility of being gracious to the people he meets even when they are acting like idiots. He may not remember this moment, but he knows they will, and wants to do right by them."When I walk into a room, everybody remembers their first kiss with one of my songs playing in the background," Elvis explains, in between dabbing his eye sockets with Preparation H to conceal the bags. "But they never see me."Spacey is more of a caricature, but a good one. He's not the subject but the object of the piece, and plays his few scenes for comedy and some surprising moments of empathy. For all his bigness, it appears Nixon is a little star-struck, too."Elvis & Nixon" is a deliberately minor effort, weighing in at well under 90 minutes. It features some tangents about one of the people behind that meeting, future manager Jerry Schilling (Alex Pettyfer), and his anxieties about meeting his prospective parents-in-law, which feels belabored and concocted in the direction of serving Schilling's ego. (He was a producer of this project.)In the end, though, the takeaway I got from this was pleasure, particularly a final section where Elvis and Nixon finally meet, and discuss the miracle that is America for both of them. It reminds me of the HBO films they used to make in the 1990s, before it became about big ratings and "Game Of Thrones" and the idea was to give a platform to a film that wasn't likely to draw big box-office. I just hope Amazon keeps it up with this kind of original programming. "Elvis & Nixon" is a promising start.

a photo. and a fairy tale. and, more important, Kevin Spacey and Michael Shannon making splendid roles. short, an easy film, using too many details, maybe, too slow, and few magnificent scenes. this is all. a kind of docudrama, comedy and trip across the flavor of a time. and nothing more. after its end, the feeling is almost strange. one side - a film for the evening after a long and difficult job day. the other side - impressive performances. so, a film who could be a not uninspired option to see. first, for this so fragile equilibrium.

This is my first review, ever.I am a film person, love a lot of genres. Would not consider myself a film buff or whatever that term insinuates.In a nutshell the acting outshines this story. Kevin Spacey clearly being gifted at playing the President does it once again. I am a JFK person so learning about Nixon is something new. However, this should have been about Shannon and his delivery which was exemplary.Great film.