Elvis – Movie Review
159 Minutes, Rated PG-13
Written by Baz Luhrmann, Sam Bromell, and Craig Pearce
Directed by Baz Luhrmann
**NOTE: this post will be updated with audio once we actually have the chance to talk about it. Until then, enjoy this brief look at my thoughts and read Ryan’s review HERE. Stay tuned.**
Synopsis:
From his childhood in Tupelo, Mississippi to his rise to stardom starting in Memphis, Tennessee and his conquering of Las Vegas, Nevada, Elvis Presley becomes the first rock ‘n roll star and changes the world with his music.
I’ll say it: I was concerned.
I grew up in an Elvis household (mom was a huge fan. Huge. HUGE.) and am as much a fan of “the King” as anybody of a certain age. But much of the man’s life has descended into myth.
Much of it has fallen even further, all the way into parody.
And that, my friends, is a crime.
My concerns, chiefly, focused on how director Baz Luhrmann, known for his big, splashy musicals, would approach the subject matter. Elvis, to put it bluntly, is already a big, splashy subject, so I wasn’t sure if Luhrmann would simply turn the movie up to absurdity or not.
As I recall, star Austin butler wanted this role… badly. So badly, in fact, that he worked on it for months–with Baz Luhrmann–before he’d even secured the role.
It shows.
But we’ll get back to that.
Luhrmann chose to present the film through the narration of Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks), the man who, if he didn’t “discover” Elvis, recognized what was happening around him, and certainly elbowed his way into young Elvis’ professional life early, before more serious or large-scale operators could beat him to the punch.
A carnival showman, Barker styled himself a “Snowman,” meaning a con-man who worked tirelessly to turn trick after trick to get people’s money, until any particular well was tapped out, before moving on to the next trick.
In Elvis, he saw a well that would never run dry, no matter how hard he pumped it.
And he pumped it. HARD.
Merchandise, touring, films, even getting Elvis “Drafted” in order to rehabilitate his image after a move to shut him down for his “lewd” movements and “black music” threatening to “corrupt” America’s youth.
Pump. Pump. Pump.
And Elvis? As portrayed by Butler, Elvis is very much the momma’s boy he never pretended NOT to be throughout his life, and Parker exploited that relationship long after she passed away early in his career.
Doing the bulk of the singing for the younger Elvis, Butler’s voice and presentation was simply fantastic. If Rami Malek could win an Oscar as Freddie Mercury WITHOUT singing, and Taron Egerton could garner awards buzz portraying Elton John AND singing, then I feel confident saying, as much as I loved Malek’s performance (and Bohemian Rhapsody overall), Butler’s performance eclipses it in every way.
He brings the vocal chops Malek didn’t (and bests Egerton’s); he hits the physicality of the role, the style, the speech, the emotion of a man gifted with so much but wanting so much more.
Truly, it was a spectacular performance, and never dipped into parody. It was clear Butler loved the role and did his damnedest to do it justice.
As the love of Elvis’ life, Pricilla, Olivia DeJonge grounds Elvis for a large chunk of the film, until not even she can save him from Tom Hanks’ Colonel Tom Parker. Your heart breaks with hers as she watches his decent, his decay, from the Colonel’s machinations.
I was less enamored of Hank’s performance, however. Perhaps as “big” a character as Elvis in real life, the choice to center the film around his point of view was, in my opinion, a bad choice, and Hanks’ portrayal wound up falling into the Fair-to-Good range for me.
I was otherwise impressed with the amount of restraint Luhrmann showed, keeping the scenes and feel of the film small when it was young Elvis, the intimate Elvis, while not overblowing the already outlandish later Elvis years in Vegas.
The film is shot very well, with the grandiosity of Elvis’ later performances captured beautifully, a stark contrast to the smaller and more chaotic performances that marked his early career.
Elvis Presley needs little embellishment, and I think Luhrmann (wisely) recognized that fact.
This one is a winner. See it.
Elvis hits theaters June 24 and stars Tom Hanks, Austin Butler, Olivia DeJonge, Helen Thomson, and Richard Roxburgh.
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