Recipe: Take one relatively unknown director (David Winkler), one bizarre screenplay, and one beloved and outstanding actor. Combine together with one of America's biggest obsessions: Elvis dead or alive?
The most compelling reason to see Finding Graceland is Harvey Keitel. Can you think of anything more incongruous than an irresistible Harvey Keitel doing Elvis? Keitel plays a mysterious drifter who identifies himself as Elvis. As the story unfolds, it becomes apparent that Elvis has a profound effect upon the people he encounters during a road trip to Memphis, where he plans to visit Graceland on the anniversary of his death.
Finding Graceland falls into the alternative history category and is a screen-writer's fantasy about what really happened to Elvis after his "supposed" death in 1977. The story is so good you will find yourself wishing it were true. In the vast body of commentary on this film, there are a great number of Elvis fans who thought this was a terrific film, particularly because it included the kind of esoteric trivia about Elvis that only a true aficionado could recognize. For example, in his real life, Elvis used a fabricated name to make airline and hotel reservations. The name appears in the film in a newspaper article that causes confusion about whether we are really watching a film about Elvis Presley or a prominent businessman in Tennessee. A few fans suggested the film offered many clues to Elvis' whereabouts, and believed that Elvis' ex-wife Priscilla Presley, who co-produced the film, was using this as a secret vehicle to impart information about what really happened to The King. If, like me, you've never been an Elvis enthusiast, but you are a Harvey Keitel fan, this film is a must. But if you are both an Elvis and Keitel fan, you have many good reasons to see Finding Graceland. If the director had used an actor that resembled Elvis, it would have been too easy to believe this yarn. Harvey Keitel is so good in this role, he makes you take that leap of faith to trust he ain't no impersonator but the real deal. Don't miss this one!
Watch the trailer for the film.
You can find this film in the neighborhood at Trilogy Videos, 2325 NW Thurman Street.
