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| Sparkling in gold, burning red and leathery black, Austin Butler looks confident on this poster for Baz Luhrman's Elvis |
Coming from a poor upbringing in a black neighborhood in Mississippi, Elvis Presley married country and rhythm and blues into an explosive sound, - explosive also due to the (right) color of his skin, his pelvic convulsions on stage, and the help of his commercially laser-focused manager 'Colonel' Tom Parker.
Elvis is written by Sam Bromell (Hard Chic (2012, short)), Jeremy Doner (The Killing (2011-12)), Craig Pearce (Romeo + Juliet (1996)) and great Australian filmmaker, co-writer/co-producer/director Baz Luhrmann (Strictly Ballroom (1992)).
Luhrmann's abilities with musicals and grandly staged, glamorous, over-the-top material are perfectly matched to the life of the King of Rock 'n Roll here in what is arguably his best film to date. The pizazz and persuasive handle on the subject gets established immediately in the dizzying first 15 minutes, and the powerful grip and magnetism of the film never lets up. Without texts or much narration (we do get an intro by the 'Colonel', who is our initial host into Elvis' life) the images are so lively and vivid in their storytelling, and the style is that of a fever-dream portrait, which only implicitly vouches to us that what is shown is more or less true, - rather a condensed version of the truth. A more sober, quiet version of events wouldn't have been proper for the life of Elvis Presley. Luhrmann has his story and the audience assuredly in his grip throughout Elvis.
Austin Butler (Yoga Hosers (2016)) impresses as the lanky, sexy musician and mama's boy, who (understandably) gets hooked on the wild and intense feelings that he creates on-stage, and Tom Hanks (Punchline (1988)) makes the creepy, deceitful Parker, a fascinating and mysterious character, more palatable than he could have been if still far from sympathetic. It is a rare villain part for Hanks. Luhrmann attracts the very best talents, and everyone in the cast lift their roles commendably. New-comer Alton Mason impresses in a scene as Little Richard. The musical side of the film is astounding, making it near-impossible to stay still in one's seat, as legs, feet, hands, and one's head invariably bops and jangles around to the irresistible rhythms and undying classics that are the delicious sound-carpet for the thrilling biopic. Luhrmann, as he has done before, pushes modern music into his period movie, including rap and hiphop, which works OK in the jungle-fever segregation themed scenes, but jars and sticks out when Kacey Musgraves sings Can't Help Falling in Love.
This is but a small aside for an appropriately epic length wonder of a film with superb cinematography by Mandy Walker (Walk the Talk (2000)) and amazing costumes, hair and makeup. Elvis is a sensational piece of visual storytelling, a brash and fabulous film that needs to be seen on the big screen.
Related post:
Baz Luhrmann: The Great Gatsby (2013) - Luhrmann exuberance and great stars create thrilling adaptation
Watch a trailer for the film here
Cost: 85 mil. $
Box office: 234.3 mil. $ and counting
= Box office success (has returned 2.75 times its cost to date)
[Elvis premiered 25 May (Cannes Film Festival, out of competition) and runs 159 minutes. The project was announced in 2014. Shooting took place from January 2020 - March 2021 in Australia, a shoot that was prolonged due to the China Virus pandemic. Butler reportedly himself sings Elvis' songs in the early years portrayed in the film, and later the actual Elvis vocals are used. The film opened #1 to a 31.2 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 3 weekends in the top 5 (#3-#4-#5) and has grossed 123.1 mil. $ to date. Its 2nd and 3rd biggest markets to date are the UK with 19.1 mil. $ (8.2 %) and Australia with 18.7 mil. $ (8 %). The film has one announced market yet to open in: Anguilla on 23 December. Both Elvis' ex-wife Priscilla Presley, their daugther Lisa-Marie Presley and grand-daughter, filmmaker Riley Keough have given enthusiastic statements about the film. Luhrmann doesn't have his next film gig announced yet. Butler returns in Masters of the Air (miniseries) and theatrically in Dune: Part Two (2023); Hanks in Pinocchio (2022). Elvis is certified fresh at 78 % with a 6.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of Elvis?
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