The Issue with Elvis

Directed by Charlotte Wincott, The Issue with Elvis follows reclusive botanist Michael Mercer (Jeff Wincott) as he encounters a young boy (Wolfgang Wincott’s Elvis) in the woods near his isolated home – with the picture detailing the bond that inevitably forms between the two characters. It’s a workable setup that’s employed to predominantly underwhelming and flat-out tedious effect by Wincott, as the filmmaker, armed with her own screenplay, delivers an often painfully amateurish endeavor that’s been hard-wired with a whole host of unappealing, incompetent elements – with, for example, the terrible sound design and ongoing inclusion of flubbed lines certainly emblematic of the picture’s shot-without-a-crew-and-over-a-weekend vibe. There’s little doubt, as well, that The Issue with Elvis‘ arms-length feel is compounded by its meandering, lackadaisical narrative and a central relationship that couldn’t possibly be less involving, with, in terms of the latter, the viewer’s efforts at working up any real interest in or enthusiasm for the father/son dynamic between Michael and Elvis stymied (and then some) by Wolfgang Wincott’s absolutely atrocious performance. (Jeff Wincott, on the other hand, offers up a subtle, appealing turn that remains a highlight within the proceedings.) By the time the completely unearned feel-good finale rolls around, The Issue with Elvis has cemented its place as a woefully inept endeavor that is, for the most part, akin to watching someone else’s home movies.

* out of ****