Based on a meeting which took place on December 21st 1970, Elvis & Nixon is a dramatization of the events leading up to and occurring during the event. Elvis (Michael Shannon) is tiring of his place in the entertainment world, he has become a parody of what he started out as and his movie career is long gone. Young people are more interested in the latest drug culture music. Elvis feels that he would like to do something to help with the rising tide of anti-Americanism he can see and so he believes that using his fame while working undercover as an agent at large for the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs would be the best way he could assist with the elimination of this threat so he heads off to Washington D.C and writes a letter for the President on the way and rolls up to the White House requesting a meeting with Richard Nixon (Kevin Spacey).

While the potential discussion during the meeting is the main point of the film, it only plays a small part in the movie as most of the main body of the film is focused around the build-up. Nixon refuses the meeting while his aides Egil Krogh (Colin Hanks) and Dwight Chapin (Evan Peters) try and convince him that spending a small amount of time with Elvis would be a great PR opportunity, particularly in an attempt to get extra votes from the youth and Southern demographics. Elvis is searching for a valued purpose to what he does as he is becoming increasingly disillusioned by and isolated from reality as his entourage of yes men constantly pander to his every need but he feels are only there because of the perks the situation brings.

Both Shannon and Spacey do a great job as the central characters. Spacey’s impression of Nixon is as good as I’ve seen anywhere and Shannon has the mannerisms of Elvis spot on as he waves his hands and finger points his way through scenes and if not for these two performances the movie would have struggled as the rest of the cast is only filler. The acting is fine, it’s just of lesser importance and is all just build up to actual meeting and when the two leads are alone in the room together it’s where the real talent of both men come to the fore, playing off one another and trying to outdo each other each step along the way while slowly coming to realise that they are not as different as each originally thought and the irony of the situation where Nixon is speaking about the lack of honesty and integrity in America while Elvis is speaking of his disdain of the drug culture was a great touch.

It’s a speculative look at what may have occurred when two iconic figures met for a brief snapshot in time but even despite some heart felt moments of vulnerability in some speeches from Shannon, take out the final twenty minutes and it’s little more than a made for TV movie with two outstanding lead performances.

DJ Speaks Rating: 5.5 Out Of 10