BDirected by Eugene Jarecki Review by Jon Kissel |  |
Documentarian Eugene Jarecki, having previously tackled bite-sized topics like the military-industrial complex and the war on drugs, widens his scope to include decades of modern American history as mapped onto the life of one of the country’s most quintessential sons, Elvis Presley. The King flits between vignettes from Elvis’ life and commentators reflecting on broad social trends of the last 40 years, mostly from the backseat of Elvis’ Rolls Royce as it travels between the major locations of his life. The OJ: Made in America miniseries needed eight hours to produce a macro and micro picture of 1990’s Los Angeles, and Jarecki has made a similar, nationwide reckoning into an impossibility at 107 minutes.
The comparison between Elvis and America doesn’t seem entirely inapt, as Elvis is shown to constantly make the worst decision possible to further his weaknesses. He’s confronted with, and owns up to, his flaws and destructive patterns of behavior, but keeps choosing the path of least resistance, one of performative patriotism and unchallenging paydays. Footage of the Rolls Royce repeatedly breaking down between stops is left in, likely to further the connection to a fading glory with less and less under the hood. That The King was made in the months preceding the 2016 election lends it an air of creeping doom, but that’s only true for the liberal-minded viewer inclined to watch documentaries in the first place. For a Trumpist, the narrative is wholly changed. In their narrative, Elvis just performed his stellar comeback special and kicked the venal Colonel to the curb.
If Jarecki’s thesis is over-ambitious and flimsy in the telling, how it’s communicated makes The King a special experience. Those Rolls Royce interviews produce emotional reactions in the musicians and historians by just sitting on the leather, and musical performances get an extra oomph in the confined space. The car also engenders a surprising level of introspection, particularly from a humble Ashton Kutcher reflecting on the poisoned apple of fame that he and Elvis shared some level of. Jarecki’s grand theorizing is amusing to watch as the pieces fall into place and he leads the viewer to his crafted conclusions. It’s the people in front of his camera that are most compelling, anxious to be near history and eager to expound on it. B
If Jarecki’s thesis is over-ambitious and flimsy in the telling, how it’s communicated makes The King a special experience. Those Rolls Royce interviews produce emotional reactions in the musicians and historians by just sitting on the leather, and musical performances get an extra oomph in the confined space. The car also engenders a surprising level of introspection, particularly from a humble Ashton Kutcher reflecting on the poisoned apple of fame that he and Elvis shared some level of. Jarecki’s grand theorizing is amusing to watch as the pieces fall into place and he leads the viewer to his crafted conclusions. It’s the people in front of his camera that are most compelling, anxious to be near history and eager to expound on it. B
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