Tribeca Film Festival: Elvis and Nixon
By: Anthony Zangrillo
Amazon Studios brings an interesting piece of art imitating life in the feature film Elvis & Nixon. Both Michael Shannon (Elvis) and Kevin Spacey (Nixon) embrace the seemingly insurmountable task of transforming into these legendary icons. Somehow, Shannon and Spacey find a way to replicate their demeanors, while mastering their own unique interpretation of the day’s events. A cast of unimportant but well-acted side characters line the walls of every scene. While many of these character arcs feel uneventful, that criticism overlooks the film’s aim to finally give viewers a peek inside this monumental moment in White House history. Rather than forcing a contrived plot, the film offers compelling characters with dialogue that ever so-slightly peels back the complex façade each charismatic titan exudes.
In December 1970, Elvis the King of Rock ‘n Roll marched up to the lawn of the White House in order to request a meeting with the most powerful man in the world, President Nixon. With the aim of becoming a federal agent at large, Elvis confidently leaves a mystifying letter that confounds the staff of the oval office. Jumping on the opportunity to gain some positive press, Nixon’s aides convince the stubborn President to entertain a short meeting between the two characters. This humorous meeting represented a significant piece of culture forever immortalized in the most requested photograph in the National Archives.
The film begins with an innocently clueless Elvis attempting to bring firearms onto a plane. This opening scene establishes Elvis’s obsession with badges, satisfying his need to rest above the law. Shannon works excellently off of the star-struck stewardess. As the film progresses, Elvis increasingly uses his fame and sex appeal to get his way. Yet, the film doesn’t hold back in the negative aspects of the celebrity life. Mid-way through the movie, Elvis opens up about the real struggle of having a public persona. No one really appreciates Elvis. The public only loves the King. Every time he goes outside, he is embodying a character, while the real Elvis withers away to slowly die. This reflection on the ills of celebrity culture reveal another layer of complexity for the eponymous music legend.
However, the heart of this film is Jerry Schilling Elvis’s close friend and movie studio employee. Jerry resides in the shadows of Elvis’s greatness following his friend’s immense fame and success. Throughout the film, Elvis maintains a symbiotic need to live his crusade with Jerry. Early on, the film establishes that being Elvis’s friend places a great strain on Jerry’s personal life. Balancing a fiancé and a career in an exclusive industry provides Jerry with many reasons to dump Elvis’s wild political schemes. Yet Jerry grows as a character reaching his own observation on friendship and personal strength. Through this development, Elvis appreciates the true value of friendship free of any monetary conditions.
Kevin Spacey gives one of his most complex yet riveting performances in the enigmatic Nixon. Spacey opens the film with a tidbit of the crass behavior specific to the infamous president. When the film re-visits this scene, audiences get an up-close look at the master manipulator luring his team into accepting a meeting with Elvis just to nix the idea without any argument. Indeed, Spacey transforms into Nixon in almost every way, mimicking his trademark expressions and voice ticks. As the film progresses, the classic Spacey politician begins to disrupt the actor’s performance, yet Spacey still manages to keep enough of Nixon’s soul in the performance.
One of the most interesting Nixon scenes involves his pessimistic view towards his own image and likeness. Envying Elvis’ good looks, Nixon attacks the genetic lottery that has supposedly ignored the president. In the ashes of this defeat, Nixon has labeled himself a survivor adapting to his environment and rising above his “deficiencies.” By establishing the conflicting mindsets of Elvis and Nixon, the film allows viewers to understand the mind games present throughout their historical meeting without explicitly laying out the tensions during the talk. Furthermore, Nixon’s diatribes have a significant payoff, as Nixon’s stance on the pop culture icon slowly changes.
The major weakness of the film is the supporting cast. Most of the acting is well done, but too many roles have little to no purpose. Johnny Knoxville should have been given a lot more material. Embarrassingly, his funniest scene involves a question of why is his character even present during a conversation, a question I asked myself throughout the film. Colin Hanks and Evan Peters are both good as officials in Nixon’s staff, but the script relegates them to mere organizer roles. Thankfully, the film doesn’t force Jerry’s contrived plot on the audience. It merely serves as a book-end to the film, while helping Jerry and Elvis refine their friendship.
Overall, Elvis and Nixon is worth the watch to discover the secrets behind this monumental meeting. Shannon and Spacey’s performances jump off the screen. While the plot is in design not complex, the intricacies in the main characters and the truthful dialogue of their inefficiencies propel this movie beyond its flaws.
Score: 7/10
