‘Elvis and Nixon’ Explores a Strange Encounter of Rock and State

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Jerry Schilling needs to get home. His girlfriend’s parents are going to be in L.A. in the next couple hours, and he wants to ask her father for his permission to marry her. He goes to tell his buddy, Elvis Presley, that he can’t stay in Washington, D.C., anymore. He needs to get home now. Presley, coating his hair with black hair spray, is baffled that his friend would leave him in his time of need. In his calm, seductive tone, Presley tries to explain to Schilling why he needs him by his side.

“When people see you, they see Jerry,” said Presley, “When they see me, they never see the boy from Tennessee. They see an object. They buried that boy Jerry. They buried him in gold. You see that boy, Jerry. I need you here.”

As time goes on, Presley continues to recede into the memories of older and younger generations. He’s often portrayed as the radical, hip-thrusting youth that led rock and roll to new frontiers and significance in the ’50s and ’60s. But beyond Presley’s many hits and television appearances lies a man with ideals and opinions that one might not expect from the king—the “object”—of rock and roll.

Elvis & Nixon, the latest film from director Liza Johnson and Amazon Studios, explores the mindset of the famed rock star in the midst of the changing political and cultural landscapes in 1970, and is based on true events. Watching newsreels and films from his home, Graceland, in Memphis, Tenn., Presley (Michael Shannon) decides that he has a part to play in maintaining what he considers traditional American principles. He flies to Washington, D.C., with the intention of meeting President Nixon (Kevin Spacey) and asking the president to make him a federal agent-at-large for the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. Presley’s friends Jerry Schilling (Alex Pettyfer) and Sonny West (Johnny Knoxville) work with White House officials Egil Krogh (Colin Hanks) and Dwight Chapin (Evan Peters) to arrange the famous meeting with the reluctant president.

Elvis & Nixon’s goldmine is found in its climax, where Nixon and Presley come together in the Oval Office. According to a People Magazine interview with the actual Jerry Schilling—a producer for the film—much of what happened at the meetings was exaggerated. Regardless, seeing these two iconic figures brought together with a comedic tone is amusing to say the least. Seeing Nixon curmudgeon about the office, while Elvis performs karate routines with his friends, is a beautiful sight, despite knowing the actual meeting was a little less saucy.

While the famous meeting is the goldmine of the film, Elvis & Nixon’s exploration of the aging, surprisingly conservative rock star, as well as Shannon’s performance, make up the film’s heart and soul. Shannon, at first glance, might not be the first person a viewer would expect to see playing Elvis, but the actor’s soothing, almost melodious whisper is enrapturing and very much in the surmised persona of Presley. Seeing the “object” of Elvis dismantled—the well-read man under glamorous outfits and golden sunglasses is actually vulnerable—reminds viewers that even the most composed celebrities have their own daily gripes to trudge through.

The rest of the cast and, honestly, the rest of the film lack substance and feels useless next to Elvis’ character and Shannon’s performance. Spacey presents a predictably accurate, humorous portrayal of Nixon, but Nixon only really serves as a vehicle to explore more of Elvis’ personality. Aside from their meeting, Nixon is in the film very little. Pettyfer does fine with his part, but the film doesn’t do a great job of making audiences sympathize or care about him getting back to his girlfriend. It’s still hard to tell why Knoxville’s character is in the film, other than that there were two of Elvis’ friends in the Oval Office in a few pictures from that day. The film might have purposely left the focus off of these supporting characters, but this decision leaves the scenes without Shannon feeling immensely lackluster.

To say the least, Elvis & Nixon is a bizarre film. Running at under an hour and 30 minutes and produced by Amazon Studios, the film feels like it should be found on the streaming service’s web site, not in a movie theater. It serves an interesting depiction of rock god Presley, framing this engaging characterization in a charming, yet unimportant moment in history, which leaves Elvis & Nixon feeling trivial. Elvis & Nixon would work well as an Amazon short film that one finds browsing Amazon Prime on a Saturday morning, but for viewers trekking out to a theater for the film, the movie seems barely worth the effort.Featured Image By Amazon Studios