Movie Review: Elvis

 

Elvis Presley is an icon from before my time. I'm not so young that I'm ignorant to who he was and the impact he had on an entire generation. However,  I was never there to witness the impact he had first-hand and I always wondered what made this Mississippi-born star the legend everyone claims him to be. That's why I'm happy I took the time to sit down and watch the new Elvis movie to get some kind of visualisation to the man they call the King, even if it is a bit more of a dramatisation than an accurate bio-pic.  

Baz Luhrmann is a very big name when you consider his filmography, and remembering his style of prior films it makes sense now why this film feels more magical than it does grounded. Luhrmann has always been about telling human stories while putting a more overt the top spin on it with some interesting editing and visual choices. You see that style straight away in Elvis, there a definitive sense that this is a nostalgia fuelled dream of the life of Elvis Presley which tries to ground itself in the moments where it matters. 

The narrative element of the film does a good job following the rise of Elvis' career from his early days in the carnival to his rise to stardom through radio and live performances, to his eventual downward spiral in Las Vegas. It plays fast and loose with a lot of the core exposition and it's not too focus on hammering down too many fine details like a normal bio-pic would. I don't see this as a bad thing though as it catches the essence of the mans life in a fast and fluid way. You get a great impression of the wonderful life this man lived and all the tragedy that followed him, but through it all you never lose the feeling of the magic that made his life noteworthy. 

The role of Elvis is inhabited by the rising star Austin Butler who has had a real boost of momentum over the past few years, with his appearance in Once Upon A Time in Hollywood and is planned to turn up in Dune Part Two. The performance he gives to the role of the King himself is probably the best aspect of the film for me. I've only ever seen clips of the real Elvis, but I've seen enough to know he was a very charismatic personality. There was a reason he drew so many crowds and received controversy for his impact on the female audience. Austin Butler nails down all of his finest elements in a truly captivating performance. He manages a brilliant balance of his tone and mannerisms and has a great range when it comes to projecting emotions across a scene. Same goes for a lot of the performances in this film really, Tom Hanks played the role of Elvis' agent Colonel Tom Parker and he plays him so slimy and dastardly; he's great! 

In terms of style and tone, as I noted earlier that the director has a history of being most creative when it comes to the editing and visual cues of his movies. I think I got the initial idea behind the editing choices in the film, but I'm not the biggest fan of them. They feel very lucid and in your face at times and I can't help but feeling they distract from the gravity of some scenes too easily. I enjoyed the usage of his traditional music during some scenes and I liked how the scenes paid them the proper credit they deserved. What I didn't like though was the decision to implement modern day remixes of his songs into the film during transitions and montages, I feel it clashes with the historic tone of the film too much.

I think despite it's questionable editing choices though the overall quality of the film isn't diminished at all. Elvis is a man who defined an entire generation for many people, my own mother included. Sitting in the cinema with her and seeing the wide-eyed wonder on her face as she got to relive his life and the music that she shared in, it was such a whimsical and happy feeling to behold. This man obviously had so much influence and positivity to share and I'm happy this film gave new and old fans a means of seeing the King in all his glory.