Elvis & Nixon (2016)
– Here’s a film that can best be described as rivetingly peculiar, as if the
Coen Brothers turned their eyes on the most esoteric corners of American
history to say, “Gee, wasn’t that strange?” It’s director Liza Johnson, though,
who helms this look at the famous photograph of Elvis Presley (Michael Shannon)
and Richard Nixon (Kevin Spacey), and how it came to pass that these two met to
discuss drugs, popular culture, and the fate of the nation. Elvis & Nixon takes the strangeness
of that sentence and runs with it from the word “go,” with even the supporting
cast musing how curious all of this is and doubting its veracity. Whether the
film is accurate – based on a conversation with my resident Elvis expert, it’s
pretty close – isn’t of chief concern, so much as the film wants to give
Shannon and Spacey a chance to revel in the weirdness of their roles. Spacey’s
is something of an exaggerated caricature, maybe not the best Nixon impression
we’ve seen, but he performs exasperated better than most. It’s Shannon, though,
who steals the film with a bizarre portrayal of Elvis by way of Michael
Jackson, surreal in his aloofness and his disconnect from the way the world
works outside of Graceland. The film seems told through the eyes of his friend
Jerry Schilling (Alex Pettyfer), who lets us see Elvis from outside the head of
the King, but even scenes without Schilling allow Shannon to bring Elvis to
life with all his quirks, eccentricities, and sequined outfits fully intact. Elvis & Nixon might be Amazon
Studios’ second film, but it’s star power like Shannon that will make the
studio a successful one.That does it for this week’s edition of “Monday at the Movies.” We’ll see you next week!
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