Review of Elvis & Nixon (2016) by Spangle — 06 Nov 2016

Elvis & Nixon may not be the most challenging piece of cinema ever released, but it is a very one. With two terrific lead actors in Michael Shannon and Kevin Spacey, Elvis & Nixon is based on a single image of Elvis Presley and Richard Nixon in the White House. The rest rises out of an imagined reason for the meeting. In doing so, the film manages to delve into both Elvis and Nixon as people, serving as an interesting look at both of them, even if the story itself is not really true. However, what it lacks in truth, it makes up for with comedy. A smart and witty film, Elvis & Nixon is incredibly well-written as a comedy with lots of little references to real events and outright jokes. The end result of all of this is truly enjoyable hour and a half.

As Elvis, Michael Shannon is loud, boisterous, and magnanimous. However, he does not shy away from the internal struggles facing Elvis and the status of being a celebrity. Though far from unique in this, the film does a good job to evoke feelings of sympathy for "The King". Remaining deified to this very day, he is rarely looked at as a person and the film does a good job to make us feel for him on a personal level. He is not just some kooky rock star who wants to be a federal agent, he is a real person and nobody ever gives him that time of day. Shannon's performance is truly magnetic and really carries the film on his shoulders.

As Nixon, Kevin Spacey is equally terrific. Though a lot of it is reminiscent of Frank Underwood in House of Cards, his Nixon feels quite accurate and stoic. Watching his transformation from when he is first told about Elvis wanting to meet him to when he actually meets him is quite comical. Yet, Spacey makes it feel authentic and really captures that "not cool but want to be cool" essence that many people have, especially when in the presence of somebody cool. Spacey's turn here also provides many laughs, especially at the end when he is twirling the gun. There is a certain simplicity to the style of comedy in the film and Nixon captures most of the best lines in this one, with Spacey making the most of it with good delivery and timing.

However, in saying this, while the film is quite funny and a good look at both of its real life protagonists, Elvis & Nixon is an incredibly slight film. Coming in at just an hour and a half, Elvis & Nixon is largely just focused on this meeting and setting it up, while pretending to develop of a background relationship/issue for Jerry Schilling (Alex Pettyfer), who is an associate and friend of Elvis. It can certainly drag as you just want them to get to the meeting. The romance background, which is barely looked at, is clearly there to just add some further dimension to the film, but even with that here, Elvis & Nixon rarely makes the case for being a feature-length film. While I did really enjoy my time with it, it probably would have been even better as a short film (40-50 minutes in length maybe), allowing it to be more focused on the photograph and meeting, rather than adding fluff to make it longer.

As a whole, Elvis & Nixon is a very funny film that may be a little too long for its story, but thanks to Shannon's Presley and Spacey's Nixon, the film is incredibly easy to watch.