The opening shot is fantastic. The camera climbs an empty
staircase as we hear “Also Sprach Zarathrusta.” The music gets louder as we
reach the top of the stairs and enter a club, revealing people seated at
tables. The camera continues to move to the wings where Carlos Gutierrez (John
McInerny), dressed as Elvis, waits for his cue. It then follows him as he steps
out and onto the stage and goes right into “See See Rider,” the way Elvis began
his concerts in the 1970s. All in one shot. Then backstage he’s handed fifty
dollars, which is supposed to cover the entire band. Carlos says nothing, but
just the look on his face is heart-wrenching. And these are just the opening
moments of the film.
His daily job is at a loud plant, working on appliances.
He is divorced, and his ex-wife, Alejandra (but whom he calls Priscilla), takes
care of their young daughter, who of course is named Lisa Marie. When Carlos is
with his daughter, he tells her that he has an important gig coming up, and
asks if she’d like to come to the rehearsals. The music is all that means
anything to him, and so in trying to connect to his daughter, it’s all he can
think to talk about. Sadly, she doesn’t answer. Later when he visits his
ex-wife, she tells him that Lisa was chosen for the school choir. Carlos
responds seriously, “The music world is
difficult.”
He wears Elvis sunglasses whenever he drives. And
wherever he is, he’s caught up in the music. That’s where he lives, where he
flourishes. People on the street recognize that about him, and call him Elvis,
not Carlos. A woman asks him why he does it, and he tells her that God gave him
Elvis’ voice, so he just had to accept it.
It’s interesting, for he moves in a world of people
pretending to be other people. In one scene there are posters for concerts by
Queen and Beatles cover bands. In another scene, men are getting made up as
KISS. He and the others really identify themselves as those they play. Carlos
at one point says, “I invented rock and
roll,” not “He invented rock and roll.”
He seems to become more and more immersed in the role, until a car accident
forces him to become a father again.
The scenes with his daughter are some of the best scenes
in the film. He teaches her to play pool and takes her to his gigs. And he’s
honest with her – when she asks if her mother will die, he answers, “I don’t
know.” One of my favorite scenes features him singing and playing acoustic
guitar for her as she sits up in bed. After the song, Lisa says enough, that
she needs to go to sleep, but Carlos goes right into another song. It’s sweet.
And what is also moving about it is that it is the daughter who learns to
become involved in her father’s world rather than the other way around.
John McInerny’s performance is incredible. He has a great
voice, but also just the way he moves and carries himself is expressive. This
is a movie that’s going to stay with me for a long time.
The DVD contains no special features.
The Last Elvis
was directed by Armando Bo, and is scheduled to be released on DVD on February
25, 2014 through First Run Features.
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