Elvis & Nixon

SPOILER-FREE MOVIE REVIEW

Elvis & Nixon is a dramatic comedy starring Michael Shannon as Elvis Presley and Kevin Spacey as President Richard Nixon.

It tells the story of Elvis in his quest to become an undercover agent and a whole bunch of other stuff based on that one famous photograph taken with the pair in 1970.

Already from its premise, I knew this film should not be taken seriously. After watching it, I was glad I had that mentality.

This is not a film that should be taken seriously at all.

I mean, a movie about the events that happened around the time the famous photograph was taken which may not even be true as no evidence was recorded? Best not to have high hopes for it.

To be fair, the movie doesn't take itself seriously either, hence it avoids the horrible instance where a movie that shouldn't be taken seriously takes itself too seriously.

Take the movie Criminal as an example.

That movie (which I reviewed last month) thought of itself as some serious action-espionage thriller they thought the world hadn't seen before, where in reality, the movie suffered from falling into so many genre clichés.

On to the film proper, and there really isn't much to talk about.

The story is very simple and easy to follow - mostly because there isn't much of a story to tell.

There is no conventional three-act structure that I could detect, and with a short runtime of 86 minutes, the movie breezes by like a train.

To be fair, the movie did try to add a little more depth to the story by establishing a couple of subplots involving Elvis' bodyguards and their lives, but in all honesty, I went to the theatre to watch a movie about the King of Rock 'N' Roll, not to watch some random guy's story which I didn't really care much about.

Let's talk about the cast and well, there's a huge hit, but there's also a massive miss.

The hit is Kevin Spacey as President Nixon. I felt that it was an inspired casting choice both in terms of looks and in terms of acting talent.

It's a well-known fact that Spacey is one of the best when it comes to changing his accent for movie roles. In my eyes, he's right up there with the likes of Peter Sellers, Daniel Day-Lewis, Robert Downey Jr and Christian Bale - just to name a few.

I felt he embodied Nixon with considerable ease, and got the accent and mannerisms spot-on.

It's a shame that this portrayal of Nixon wasn't saved for perhaps a movie which featured more of him. Maybe a movie based on the Watergate scandal starring Kevin Spacey as Nixon would have been better.

The same can't be said for Michael Shannon as Elvis Presley.

To this date, there hasn't been one single convincing portrayal of one of the most iconic people ever to grace this planet.

I'm sad to say that with Elvis & Nixon, that statement continues being relevant.

I think it's fair to say that right from the looks of the two, one has something in abundance which the other can only dream of having - good looks.

Let's face it. Michael Shannon looks like a creature you'd find in an episode of The Walking Dead. A zombie.

No plot spoilers here, but there's a scene in the movie where Elvis is greeted by a couple of Elvis impersonators at the airport, and even one of the impersonators looked more like the real Elvis Presley than Shannon did.

Who in the right frame of mind thought it was a good idea to ask him to play the very handsome and sexy Elvis Presley? Elvis is supposed to look as if he could charm the pants off of any random girl by just snarling at them.

That brings me to another point.

Shannon doesn't embody much of the physical traits and mannerisms Elvis is very famous for having - i.e. the trademark snarl (that curl on his lip), the signature low voice, and the swagger in which Elvis walks.

Sure, he's a talented actor and all but I think this role was one that shouldn't have ever popped up on his agent's table under the "potential roles".

General Zod is Elvis Presley. Sigh.

I wasn't convinced in the trailers, and I'm sure as hell not convinced now.

However, Shannon did at least manage to capture a very interesting side to Elvis' character - the side which is behind those iconic sunglasses. The man underneath the superstar facade.

I thought that was a very interesting side of the story to tell, so kudos to both Shannon and the writing team for portraying that on screen.

All in all, Elvis & Nixon was a very average movie which fails to capture anything of interest with regards to the main event which the movie is built around.

A lacklustre story paired with the odd casting of Michael Shannon as Elvis Presley makes the film extremely forgettable and at times, just downright boring.

A musical score not featuring a single song from the King himself doesn't aid the movie's cause either.

If you're looking to have a fun time at the movies, go watch The Nice Guys instead. I've yet to see it due to bad timings but I've heard nothing but praise for it. Do check that out.

3.5/10.