The Last Elvis

Filmmaker Armando Bo's quirky, dreamlike drama centers on a working stiff named Carlos (John McInerny), whose life revolves around being an Elvis Presley impersonator. Chubby and laconic, Carlos has become immersed in his unspecified dreams of Elvis-y success at enormous personal cost. His wary ex-wife, Alejandra (Griselda Siciliani), is trying to increase the distance between him and his already estranged young daughter, Lisa Marie (Margarita Lopez), and his employer at a factory is tired of Carlos' distractedness. None of that matters to this oddball anti-hero: Carlos receives enough audience love at the occasional club date to keep him going, deepening his obsession. Things change when Alejandra is seriously injured in a car accident and Carlos has to take care of Lisa Marie. Father and daughter slowly find their way to a middle ground where she begins to get dad's Elvis thing and he steps up, clumsily, to take responsibility for someone else. Benefiting from a strong central performance—McInerny's otherworldly aura and Elvis chops are weirdly compelling—this is recommended. (T. Keogh)