Elvis & Nixon

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Liza Johnson/Starring: Michael Shannon, Kevin Spacey, Colin Hanks, Alex Pettyfer, Johnny Knoxville and Evan Peters

According to a factoid in the film Elvis & Nixon; director Liza Johnson's dramatization of the meeting between Elvis Presley and President Richard Nixon, the most requested photograph from the National Archives is the shot of the two men shaking hands in the Oval Office in December 1970. There is something about the picture that is absurd, comical and bizarrely surreal. It has ineffable qualities that make it both mildly disturbing and strangely appealing. Looking at the photo, the first thought that always comes to mind (and maybe yours) is: what could one of the world's most famous pop stars and one of the most controversial American presidents (controversial even before Watergate) of all time have said to one another? That question may have inspired Johnson and screenwriters Joey and Hanala Sagal and Cary Elwes (yes, that Cary Elwes) to address the question cinematically. Like the famous photo, Elvis & Nixon is off-the-wall, weirdly funny and very entertaining.

Rather than plunge the audience into the meeting itself, the first act is made up of events leading up to the eventful Oval Office meeting. Watching multiple TV screens in his Graceland Mansion, Elvis (Michael Shannon) shows his disgust with news stories of counter culture rebellion; protests, draft-card burning and the drug culture by leveling a handgun at the TV screen and firing a bullet into it.

Shortly thereafter, we see him write a letter though we hardly know to whom it's addressed. In the following scene, we see him approach an airline counter alone; minus his entourage. The woman behind the counter is very star-struck. While booking his flight, she becomes alarmed when she glimpses his holstered handgun beneath his blazer. Meanwhile, his long-time friend in L.A.; Jerry Schilling (Alex Pettyfer) receives a call from Elvis, who we see is sitting in front of airline security desk. Elvis alerts Jerry to his situation, but as we might have anticipated, the star's power makes a potentially sticky incident go away.

Elvis flies to L.A. shortly thereafter to see his friend. At a meeting in Elvis' west-coast home, Jerry is apprised of his friend's plan to meet with Richard Nixon and asks him to proofread the letter he penned earlier. Elvis explains to Schilling his plan to meet Nixon and his intention to become a Federal Agent at Large; someone who could infiltrate the communist elements of the counterculture. He also expresses his wish to have a Federal Agents' badge. Schilling is naturally puzzled but overriding his bewilderment is his marriage proposal to his girlfriend, which is to follow in several days time. Knowing his proposal could be jeopardized by Elvis' plan, he reluctantly accedes anyway to Elvis' powerful persuasion.

Once Elvis and Jerry arrive in Washington, the film becomes amusingly surreal as the two men show up at the White House security gate, asking that the letter be forwarded to the President. The bewildered expressions on the guard's faces are priceless. Elvis' smooth charm overcomes a hard-nosed security guard, who at first seems impervious to the star's charisma.

The film shifts its perspective as Nixon staff member Dwight Chapin (Evan Peters) brings Elvis' letter to the attention of his superior, Egil Krogh (Colin Hanks), who is as incredulous as his colleague. Seeing the public relations value of a meeting between Elvis and Nixon, Krogh presents the idea to White House Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman (Tate Donovan), who initially dismisses the idea until Krogh reminds him of how a meeting might appeal to southern voters. Haldeman's approbation secured, Krogh and Chapin broach the subject with Nixon (Kevin Spacey) during a daily agenda meeting. The reaction the idea elicits from Nixon is another fine moment in the film as Krogh explains Elvis' petition to become a badge-carrying federal agent. Nixon, in a moment of cantankerousness, balks at the ridiculousness of the idea and promptly sends the men away. Undeterred, Krogh enlists the help of Nixon's daughter in bringing the meeting about.

Meanwhile, Elvis waits at a hotel for word from the White House and Schilling frets about his need to return to L.A.

Krogh's ploy succeeds, which sets the scene for the historic meeting, which is a pure pleasure to behold. The suspense preceding the meeting is established slowly and effectively. I'll only divulge a few details of their famous encounter. The actual meeting is fascinating, (I'm not privy to the fact to fiction ratio); not only from a dramatic perspective, but a psychological one as well. Presented with protocol on how to behave in the Oval Office, Elvis takes pleasure in flouting them, much to Krogh's dismay. Whether Elvis was deliberately jabbing at White House authority or merely being mischievous I can't say (if any of this happened at all) but it is great fun to watch. Elvis shows a calculating side when he rails against communism, drug-use among the youth and the Beatles; knowing he's saying exactly what Nixon wants to hear. Does Elvis get what he wants? I won't say.

The film could only work if its center--said meeting--holds our attention; which it does. But the center only holds if its two main cast members; Shannon and Spacey, make their characters compelling, which they do wonderfully. Though neither actor resembles the real life figures much, they reach for essence and get it with fine performances. Shannon nails Elvis' mannerisms, while his tall, imposing presence and his affected soft-spokenness fortify his portrayal. Spacey is outstanding as Nixon. He not only mimics the president's idiosyncratic voice, but he captures his insecurities, his penchant for profanity and his irascibility with artistic elan.

We know tragedy awaits both men in their respective futures, which lends poignance to the photo and the film. But the film isn't a tragedy; it's a funny, entertaining story about a pop star's outlandish agenda and a president who seizes a self-serving opportunity.

Post-film subtitles tell us what became of the respective participants. What awaits Krogh and Chapin seems almost inevitable.

Johnson manages to wring an entire story out of one meeting and a photo but she makes it worth our while. It's hard not to smile after watching Elvis & Nixon and marvel at how two people who might not have met under normal circumstances actually did. Such an event would hardly be improbable now but back in the square, Nixonian White House, such an encounter seems unthinkable.