Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis”
Elvis (2022)
An ornate, engaging and fizzing experience which avoids the pitfalls of most biopics and maintains focus on its core story while packing in a huge amount of information
A lot of biopics, particularly those around celebrity will often focus on the rise and triumph while either skating past the decline or representing this as a footnote at the end, but Luhrmann’s “Elvis” spends half its running time focusing on the decline with everything coming before feeding into this.
The story is narrated by Colonel Tom Parker played with a sleezy relish by Tom Hanks whose conservatism and rabid commercialisation is confounded and frustrated by his golden goose. Hanks somehow manages to lift the character beyond a villain helping us understand how Presley came under his spell. Some have criticised his accent, but I’m not sure if anyone could explain what a Dutch-Tennessee accent is meant to sound like and what we get certainly works.
In terms of Elvis played by Austin Butler, it’s an inspired bit of casting that’s convincing though there are times when he looks more like John Travolta. It’s a minor quibble that wouldn’t have been noticeable if he wasn’t so convincing the rest of the time. Even when stock footage of Elvis is used, it’s actually hard to tell if we’re looking at Butler or the real thing.
The pacing is terrific yet there’s so much conveyed on screen, the content so rich that it can be quite exhausting but nonetheless enjoyable. I found it a little odd that Elvis’ bizarre interactions with Nixon are absent particularly given the point in the film where it would have appeared. It’s one of the few omissions in a film which on the whole doesn’t shy away from the negative.
Visually (perhaps not surprising as it’s Luhrmann), it’s stunning but beyond its title sequence doesn’t feel like trademark Luhrmann which is a good thing. Cinematographer Mandy Walker who has only worked with Luhrmann on “Australia” does a terrific job and wisely focuses more on the audience than the performer. The editing is also excellent packing in a lot while flowing effortlessly from scene to scene, year on year.
Overall, it’s an excellent film which approaches its subject from a fresh perspective and is the best we’ve seen from Luhrmann since 2001’s “Moulin Rouge!”
