Elvis & Nixon (2016)
Rated R
Starring Michael Shannon, Kevin Spacey, Alex Pettyfer, Johnny Knoxville, Colin Hanks, Evan Peters
Directed by Liza Johnson
The Story:
December, 1970... That morning, Elvis (Shannon) came up to the White House gates hoping to meet President Nixon (Spacey). The picture taken at the end of their encounter is the most requested photograph in the National Archives.
This is a story of the meeting that almost didn't happen.
It all begins when Elvis decides he wants to be an undercover Federal Agent.
His idea, see the President, get the credentials, and begin working for the government.
Nixon, on the other hand, was scheduled for his afternoon nap at the time Elvis was to be cleared to see him.
Surreal, of that there is no doubt.
While Shannon doesn't attempt to go full-on Elvis, he gets enough of the speech and mannerisms down that you buy the performance.
Then there is Spacey, possibly the best chameleon actor of this (or any) generation, and again, he becomes Nixon right before your eyes.
While everything you see on screen may not have actually happened, they have enough evidence of the main points to wrap the story together nicely, filling in the dialogue that could have happened to get to that point.
It's fascinating. It's fun.
And in today's political climate, it almost makes you miss the good old days of Nixon.
: )
I watched it on DVD from Netflix, but it is now currently streaming on Amazon Prime as of this writing.
Final Grade: B
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