The term “icon” is flung around perhaps too much in popular culture. In the case of Elvis Presley though, the term is perfect. Despite the scores of people who make a living from imitating him, his image has never been watered down and never quite equalled. This of course means that anyone picked to portray Elvis on screen is facing an uphill struggle. In Elvis & Nixon, Michael Shannon attempts to fill Elvis's blue suede shoes. A fantastic actor he may be but Elvis…?
The film tells the true story of Elvis's attempts to win an audience with then President Richard Nixon (Kevin Spacey) in December of 1970. Distressed by what he saw as the moral downturn of the nation thanks to drugs, communists and the dreaded Beatles, Elvis wanted to volunteer his services to the nation as an undercover agent at large. Nixon is at first totally against the meeting but after some pressure from both his staff and his family, this historically strange meeting happened within the walls of the Oval Office.
Elvis & Nixon is a strange fish of a film. The fun script and attention to kitschy period detail gives the production an effervescent quality but as a film it feels somehow disjointed and televisual in its style, despite the calibre of its cast. Liza Johnson's direction feels stilted and unimaginative, meaning that the film never flows in a pleasing way. Thank goodness then for that aforementioned script and cast. Colin Hanks and Evan Peters are the best of the supporting bunch, as a pair of White House staffers trying to make the link between the wayward entertainer and the stubborn POTUS. Spacey himself does a good job at capturing the mannerisms of Nixon, thankfully without the need to resort to bad prosthetics. As for Shannon, well he does his best. The mannerisms and postures are all present and correct but for me, he never fully melted into the role.
Funnily enough, this wasn't a huge problem for me. I never really expected a pitch perfect Elvis performance from Shannon and as far as I'm concerned, a good imitation is all we can expect. The overall effect is a frothy, fun concoction that is notable for its interesting subject matter if not as a piece of cinema.