By: debbie lynn elias
After a successful premiere in Sundance, Armando Bo’s THE LAST ELVIS makes its Los Angeles debut as Argentina’s contribution to the 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival International Showcase. There is a fine line between fact and fiction, fantasy and reality and for Carlos Gutierrez those lines are nothing but a blur. Factory worker, estranged husband and father, and singer, Carlos is far more than the Elvis impersonator he believes himself to be. He believes he IS Elvis. Although bearing faint physical resemblance to the portlier late-in-life 70’s Elvis but for his dyed black sideburns, his voice is frighteningly that of “The King.” With eyes closed, one would swear Elvis had come back from the grave.
Even insisting that people call him Elvis, identifying himself to others as “Elvis Presley”, Carlos is obsessed. His wife is named Priscilla, his daughter Lisa Marie. His Cadillac is emblazoned with the name “Lisa Marie” just as Elvis did to his airplane. Priscilla bears a tattoo on her arm that reads “Love Me Tender.” Begrudgingly working in a dead end factory job by day, in his off hours and in between eating peanut butter and banana sandwiches and unblinkingly glued to old videos of The King in concert, Carlos and his band rehearse almost non-stop, readying for what Carlos alludes to will be a “big” tour.
But Carlos’ plans are temporarily put on hold when an accident puts Priscilla in intensive care and Lisa in her father’s lap. Embracing the time with his daughter, one holds out hope for the family, but when Priscilla makes a recovery and is released from the hospital, Carlos makes plans to hit the road with his band. Only problem is that he doesn’t join his band. He heads to Graceland to celebrate his 42nd birthday – the same age as Elvis at death.
Real life Elvis impersonator John Mc Inerny makes his acting debut as Carlos. Providing all of the vocals in the film, in full Elvis 70’s regalia, he transports us in time, creating a magical on-stage presence that will have one believe the voice, the moves, the persona, is Elvis Presley. But then McInerny shows us poignant reserve as Carlos wrestles between his obsession and his perceived reality and that of the world. Using the camera as the eyes to the soul, director Armando Bo, making his feature debut, brings us a compelling character study of a man spiraling downward, consumed by the myth of a legend. Although a few missteps and unnecessary scenes, THE LAST ELVIS is buoyed with McInerny’s incredible singing and indelible performance, some magical on-stage camerawork, a solid script and some to die for celebrity impersonator cameos that will have you “caught in the trap” of THE LAST ELVIS, one of my favorite Must See Festival Films.
John McInerny – Carlos/Elvis
Written and Directed by Armando Bo.
