The movie is from Argentina and is about an Elvis impersonator Carlos, although he insists on being addressed as Elvis at all times, even by friends and family. His "career" of playing weddings and similar events is pretty dependent on how popular his alter ego of Elvis is with the public. He pretty much lives his life as Elvis, eating peanut butter and banana sandwiches, manicuring his sideburns, rewatching old concerts on videotape. But we see he is living paycheck to paycheck as the agency/union that sets up gigs for various impersonators owes him for several performances. Elvis' persona is realized for us by his mantra that "I invented rock and roll"--implying that the Beatles or whomever may come and go, but Elvis is forever.
Elvis is divorced with a young daughter he has named Lisa Marie. His dayjob is at a factory assembly line. His ex-wife, whom he addresses as Priscilla although that is not her name, is fed up with his absent and impractical parenting and intends to take full custody of Lisa. But she gets into an auto accident and their daughter has to spend a few days with Elvis. Lisa is not very enamored of her father but during the visit he manages to win her over in small ways. She even gifts him an Elvis bobble head doll. We see that although he is usually absent, he is also caring and loving with her.
We also see Elvis seems to be planning for a trip and some kind of final performance. He sells his belongings, quits his dayjob, visits his mother for the last time, leaves a nest egg for Lisa, and trashes the agency office when they refuse to pay him what he is owed. He then spiffs himself up and travels to Graceland, where he celebrates his 42nd birthday alone and makes his final, true-to-life performance as Elvis.
The story allows Elvis' plans to play throughout the film, rather than solely at the final part of the film, although in the beginning parts of the film you assume the performance is a musical one. When Lisa asks if she can attend his last concert, he tells her she needs to stay with her mother, and this has more meaning when you finally understand what he is planning. His individual persona of Carlos though is allowed to have this one final act of salvation in re-connecting with his daughter, which allows us to connect to him outside of his deluded Elvis persona. The young actress is also pretty good with her reactions and acting. His trashing of the agency is also a don't-look-back act because he won't be around to pay the consequences, that also has more meaning.
Although the actor, John McInerny (he has this Anglo name so I don't know what nationality he is; this is his only film credit and I believe he is an impersonator in real life) can sing well (and performs many segments of his acts and sings all those songs himself), you can tell that he probably learned the songs by listening to them rather than reading the lyrics as at times words are fudged over or mis-sung (so he's probably a foreigner). Although for the most part the actor doesn't resemble or overly sound much like Presley--it is mostly costume and hair and he is quite out of shape and unsexy--he does give it a fair go with the inflections, the grandstanding, the gestures. Most of the recordings of Presley that play in the background though do not sound like the real singer (perhaps they could not afford music rights to get all authentic recordings), until the powerful last few minutes where the song Battle Hymn of the Republic sung by the real Presley is played over the wordless actions of Elvis' last stand--"his truth is marching on." The theme of the song and its lyrics play into Ellvs' last act. What we first assumed was a bit of grandiose delusion, convinces us through Carlos and McInerny's performance to be a full fledged faith and embodiment in his Elvis character.
Small moments, such as Elvis walking through a ballroom where he has just performed, in his civilian clothes, pretty much ignored where before he was revered in his Elvis persona, also show us how for the most part people don't really care about him as a person. This performance by what can be called a non-actor but a pretty good performer carries the film.
I wondered, what in Elvis Presley's life made Carlos want to ingrain himself so much into this persona? Why is he not finding real life fulfillment, and why is his connection to his family and especially his daughter not enough to keep him around to spend his life with her? Where is the line which separates Carlos from Elvis?
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