Elvis & Nixon is a historical comedy-drama starring Michael Shannon and Kevin Spacey. Based on the 1970 meeting between U.S. President Richard Nixon and rock star Elvis Presley, the film is an interesting look into an unlikely get-together of two highly recognisable figures of that era.
In December 1970, the world famous singer Elvis Presley (Michael Shannon) requests an important meeting with President Richard Nixon (Kevin Spacey). However, due to Nixon's busy schedule and lack of understanding of what is popular with younger voters, Elvis' inquiry is repeatedly rejected. Eventually, though, some strings are pulled and the iconic king of rock 'n' roll manages to secure a one-on-one with the President.
Despite the relatively thin source material to work from, the film makes fairly good use of it. There are some scenes in the film that feel like they were added to pad out the runtime to a reasonable movie-length rather than expand upon the story. Michael Shannon's convincing performance as the king of rock 'n' roll is fun to watch, he nails Elvis' voice and body language. One can't help but feel amused at the laid-back way Elvis acts in front of one of the most powerful men in the world. Kevin Spacey was quite good too as President Nixon, but like Anthony Hopkins in the 1995 film Nixon, he mainly relies on playing the role through impersonating his voice and slouching, due to his lack of physical resemblance to the real person. Also, it is quite strange seeing Spacey play a real-life President after seeing him play a noteworthy fictional one on House of Cards.
I rate it 6.5/10.
In December 1970, the world famous singer Elvis Presley (Michael Shannon) requests an important meeting with President Richard Nixon (Kevin Spacey). However, due to Nixon's busy schedule and lack of understanding of what is popular with younger voters, Elvis' inquiry is repeatedly rejected. Eventually, though, some strings are pulled and the iconic king of rock 'n' roll manages to secure a one-on-one with the President.
Despite the relatively thin source material to work from, the film makes fairly good use of it. There are some scenes in the film that feel like they were added to pad out the runtime to a reasonable movie-length rather than expand upon the story. Michael Shannon's convincing performance as the king of rock 'n' roll is fun to watch, he nails Elvis' voice and body language. One can't help but feel amused at the laid-back way Elvis acts in front of one of the most powerful men in the world. Kevin Spacey was quite good too as President Nixon, but like Anthony Hopkins in the 1995 film Nixon, he mainly relies on playing the role through impersonating his voice and slouching, due to his lack of physical resemblance to the real person. Also, it is quite strange seeing Spacey play a real-life President after seeing him play a noteworthy fictional one on House of Cards.
I rate it 6.5/10.