Elvis & Nixon – Film Review by Helen Major

The film Elvis & Nixon is based on a true story about the world famous rock star, Elvis Presley, and the president of the United States, Richard Nixon, who met in the oval office following a written request from the musician. Starring Michael Shannon from Broadwalk Empire and Kevin Spacey of House of Cards acclaim, the premise of this film is just quirky enough that it might have turned out to be a real treasure. However, it missed out on a lot of its own potential, and is no more than a passively entertaining comedy.

These two fascinating men from recent history make for an unexpected comparison. Both men of power, though of very different sorts; Elvis Presley has the power of popularity, while the conversely unpopular Nixon has the might of the establishment at his fingertips. With these two incredible actors, the production team had the opportunity to make a real commentary on how fame and power are constructed, while simultaneously profiling two such juxtaposing characters at a fascinating moment in cultural history. Unfortunately this is not the route they took. They opted for a much lighter approach, verging on the farcical end of comedy, which leaves the story a little empty.

Of course, not every film needs to be a cut throat criticism of our society. However, in this instance the story of the meeting is a little too bare to flesh out an entire plot on its own. Of course, the creators realised that they weren’t going to keep an audience stimulated for 90 minutes with nothing more than the quest to get into the Oval Office, but instead of moving inwards and dissecting their focal personalities, they moved outwards and added some half-baked supporting characters who acted as lackeys for Elvis. They gave one of these lackeys a generic love story and an inkling of a desire to find his own identity and called it a subplot.

The weakness of the story reflects on the quality of the script, which left a lot to be desired. There was the occasional joke that was genuinely funny, but a lot of the humour seemed predictable, and relied heavily on the novelty of a famous person finding themselves in everyday scenarios. There was also the occasional moment of sober introspection, with Elvis soliloquising about the life of an icon in the public eye, but the sentiments felt unoriginal, and the flow from a string of jokes into a serious moment was choppy. The pacing wasn’t quite controlled enough for those transitions to be smooth.

With a weaker script such as this, it’s hard for even talented actors to excel, so it’s difficult to make a judgement about the performances. Overall they were passable. I’m not familiar enough with Elvis’ mannerisms to say whether or not Shannon did a truthful impression of the King, but as far as portraying a dejected star at the height of their fame, oblivious to the real world, he did quite a good job. Regarding Spacey, I was disappointed. As a House of Cards fan, it was of course jarring to see him playing such a different role in the same setting. However, despite his breath taking television performance, his portrayal of Nixon was a little hammy. He tried to adopt the cadence and posture of Nixon, but it looked forced and unbelievable.

Overall it was a quirky film, and while it’s not what I would have wanted it to be, it wasn’t wholly unenjoyable either. If you’re looking for something easy-going to watch with some friends or family that doesn’t require too much brainpower, then this is the ticket. However, if you’re looking for some really juicy, top end entertainment, skip over this one.