Greetings again from the darkness. The tagline nails the tone of the film: "On August 21, 1970 two of America's greatest recording artists met for the first time." Director Liza Johnson proceeds to tell the story of worlds colliding – an Oval Office meeting with President Richard Nixon and Elvis Presley. Of course, this is a fictionalized and satirical accounting, since Nixon didn't kickoff his recording passion until the following year.
It would be pretty easy to bash the film as heavy on cheese and light on historical accuracy, but that would be missing the point. These two public figures couldn't have been much different from each other, but the script (Joey and Hanala Sagal, and Cary Elwes) finds a way to have these two icons hold a conversation bonding over their mutual hatred of The Beatles.
The terrific opening credit sequence perfectly captures the time period and is a work of art unto itself. We first see Elvis shooting out the picture tubes in the TV room at Graceland. He's disgusted with the news reports of Woodstock and drug use among America's youth. Constructing a loose plot to meet with President Nixon and offer his service as a Federal Agent-at-large, Elvis is mostly interested in adding a federal badge to his collection.
Michael Shannon plays Elvis and Kevin Spacey takes on the Nixon role. Rather than a finely tuned impersonation, Shannon goes after more of an impression or re-imagining of The King. It's a perfect fit for this setting, and there is nothing like watching Shannon give an impromptu karate demonstration for the leader of the free world in the most famous room in America. Spacey, on the other hand, is spot on in capturing the posture, mannerisms, sound and essence of a man who carried much personal baggage with his political power.
The chain of events leading up to the meeting plays a bit like a farcical comedy. Nixon's staff of Bud Krough (Colin Hanks), Dwight Chapin (Evan Peters) and HR Haldeman (Tate Donovan) is equal parts incredulous and opportunistic. We get two members of Elvis' "Memphis Maphia" with Alex Pettyfer playing Jerry Schilling and Johnny Knoxville adding even more humor as Sonny West. There is a nice blend of "little" comedy moments and outright laughers – Elvis impersonators confronting him in an airport, the Secret Service reaction to Elvis' gift to Nixon of collectible WWII pistols, and Elvis meeting with a DEA official played by Tracy Letts.
I found myself smiling throughout, with full understanding that this satirical look at a meeting between two famous men with little common ground has no real historical importance other than resulting in the all-time most requested photograph from the National Archives. But for 86 minutes of smiling, I say to the filmmakers and actors Thank you. Thank you very much.
It would be pretty easy to bash the film as heavy on cheese and light on historical accuracy, but that would be missing the point. These two public figures couldn't have been much different from each other, but the script (Joey and Hanala Sagal, and Cary Elwes) finds a way to have these two icons hold a conversation bonding over their mutual hatred of The Beatles.
The terrific opening credit sequence perfectly captures the time period and is a work of art unto itself. We first see Elvis shooting out the picture tubes in the TV room at Graceland. He's disgusted with the news reports of Woodstock and drug use among America's youth. Constructing a loose plot to meet with President Nixon and offer his service as a Federal Agent-at-large, Elvis is mostly interested in adding a federal badge to his collection.
Michael Shannon plays Elvis and Kevin Spacey takes on the Nixon role. Rather than a finely tuned impersonation, Shannon goes after more of an impression or re-imagining of The King. It's a perfect fit for this setting, and there is nothing like watching Shannon give an impromptu karate demonstration for the leader of the free world in the most famous room in America. Spacey, on the other hand, is spot on in capturing the posture, mannerisms, sound and essence of a man who carried much personal baggage with his political power.
The chain of events leading up to the meeting plays a bit like a farcical comedy. Nixon's staff of Bud Krough (Colin Hanks), Dwight Chapin (Evan Peters) and HR Haldeman (Tate Donovan) is equal parts incredulous and opportunistic. We get two members of Elvis' "Memphis Maphia" with Alex Pettyfer playing Jerry Schilling and Johnny Knoxville adding even more humor as Sonny West. There is a nice blend of "little" comedy moments and outright laughers – Elvis impersonators confronting him in an airport, the Secret Service reaction to Elvis' gift to Nixon of collectible WWII pistols, and Elvis meeting with a DEA official played by Tracy Letts.
I found myself smiling throughout, with full understanding that this satirical look at a meeting between two famous men with little common ground has no real historical importance other than resulting in the all-time most requested photograph from the National Archives. But for 86 minutes of smiling, I say to the filmmakers and actors Thank you. Thank you very much.