Baz Luhrmann's Elvis is quite the stylised, yet also mostly respectful telling of the
life of Elvis Presley, but it's that peformance of Austin Butler that really elevates this
film to greater heights.
In this video, I'm going to be giving you my spoiler-free review for Elvis, discussing
the reasons why I think it's a good movie, but one that is made all the better
through the performance of Butler.
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But without further a do, lets dive into my review for Baz Luhrmann's Elvis.
So the brief life of Elvis Presley is not one that calls for a more conventional biopic
film, and many have tried to make his story work.
In the end, there needed to be a visionary filmmaker who would come along and do something
that respects yet gives us the essence of his life using a particular visual language.
It needed to be told with visual storytelling to communicate the core themes and landmarks
in this tragic story.
Baz Luhrmann is that guy and he knew that bringing this flair would feel right for a
legend that has become more concealed as time has gone on.
But the most important element in successfully being able to give us this kind of telling,
was through finding a star that could fearlessly embody Elvis
Presley without making it feel too much like an impersonation.
Austin Butler has come along and given a glorious performance as the icon, inhabiting his every
move, mannerism and inner feeling, during every performance and moment
in his life.
There's a reason that Lisa Marie Presley has praised this particular performance for being
the closest to that of her late father.
Luhrmann and Butler have created something brilliantly chaotic in an opera of complications,
memories and styles, in process of finding the inner truth.
And this is why most of the film includes speeding by different dates
and locations to the montages of newspaper headlines or historical broadcasts.
It's because this film is stylised in a way that almost makes
you feel uncomfortable from seeing the extreme re-telling by Tom Hanks Colonel Parker.
And I think that was point.
Because when you reach the fantastic final moments of Elvis during one
of his last performances, seeing that transition into reality and then also that final text
onscreen, you feel like you understand the king that little bit more.
Luhrmann and his screenwriters go into Elvis and his early
acts of rebellion in the face of politicians, the death of his mother, the assassinations
of Martin Luther King and the Kennedy's, the 1968
comeback special and how his Las Vegas residency was a golden cage.
And yet through all of these moments, the filmmaker is able to tell the full story of
Elvis from beginning to end and make you attach to what that man felt, all
the more sincerly.
And again, it's all propelled by Austin Butler’s sensational performance from age 17 onwards,
capturing his early and quick rise to fame to being the most famous performer in the
world.
We see this through the eyes of his controversial manager and promoter Colonel Tom Parker, a
man who did not know much about music, but saw what Elvis could do to an audience with
his blend of musical knowledge and style, and
he knew that there was money to be made off him.
We see the manipulative hold that he had and as Parker tries to tell his side of things,
we never really hear the truth, because most
of it is the lies surrounding his hold over the star.
And when that fully develops and you see the motion and feelings that Austin Butler brings
to his performance, you relate to and understand Elvis more as the film goes on.
Austin Butler's take on the iconic music star is half an impersonation and half original.
His physical and vocal traits are electrifying, and you
can see why he spent years watching every bit of footage to learn exactly how to perform
like him.
But it's the added emotional depth that he infuses into a lot of the later acts, that
really elevate his performance and the film as the whole.
Right from the moments where Elvis wanted to sing and dance the way he wanted to and
do it in the face of all the politics that tried to bring him down, and then later with
the comeback special and performances at the Las Vegas residency, when we see the cage
that Elvis is in.
It really is moving to see someone who wants to bring joy and magic to all of these audiences,
being constantly held back, told who to be and where to perform.
Butler really got to the heart of that and in all of Luhrmann's
close ups and frenetic cutting, we're able to feel just us confused and held back as
the king of rock was.
And then he always broke through that, and like he says in one of his many
performances, we see the real Elvis.
It's a tribute to Elvis Presley’s innovative persona, his deep passion for combining blues,
country and gospel music and the intensity of his relationship
to the audience.
His inspiration from black musicians and the struggles of being so famous during the social
politics that went on, help you to really feel what Elvis went through,
and this is mainly captured in the many stage moments that defined who he was.
Butler communicates the stage truimphs of Elvis with such
subtlety, as the actor grows from the 50s to the 70s with such believability and he
never appears to look out of place or overwhelmed with prosthetics or aided by cgi.
There's no silly impressions too, it's just the true heart
of Elvis through the way he performs and I think after this, Audtin Butler's career will
definitely explode.
He's already playing the iconic Feyd-Rautha in Dune Part 2, and after seeing
him completely transform into Elvis Presley, I'm fully on board with seeing what he does
in Denis Villeneuve's film next year.
His performance as Elvis is one that I already
think will be in contention for award nominations.
While Elvis is a really enjoyable and tragic film, it also does have a flaw.
And that comes in the performance of Tom Parker.
With most of the long runtime dedicated to the pitfalls
of his fame and meeting Priscilla, we also see the moments where he sleeps around on
tour, does pills and ultimately the destructive relationship with his manager.
He pushes him to lose the true Elvis identity, and we really
see the extent to what that grasp had over the icon.
While the performance of Butler adds great depth and emotion to this situation, the
performance of Tom Hanks is one that goes the other way.
It's quite off-putting and distracting, with moments that don't quite hit the mark in relation
to others.
I think it's just a case of miscasting and like with Baz Luhrmann,
you'll either love or hate certain choices when it comes to the presented style.
But other than with Hanks, I quite liked a lot of the choices,
and the adaptation of the character itself did do it's job in making me hate his grasp
on Elvis.
And for all its flaws and questionable choices, I think it's key to note that the
filmmaker's work does thrive in the spectacle that's always brought.
You feel every weight that is put on Elvis in the weight of this massive story, and Luhrmann’s
very distinct style can feel like a breath of fresh air at times,
especially when we get the essence of a traditional biopic too.
Elvis is an enjoyable and emotive ride, that does swing for the fences, and
I have to admire many of the choices that were made, especially in that of casting Austin
Butler.
But that was my spoiler free review for Elvis.
Baz Luhrmann's film is a great stylised telling of the star, but again, it's really in Butler
that we see the staple of a great film.
Elvis explores how Presley was often only himself
when he had an audience, and like the king of rock, Butler bounces to life when he’s
placed under the spotlight, through every move, note or
expression.
He manages to avoid falling into satire and gets to the heart of what was weighing on
Elvis at the time.
He nails every aspect of his life through this role and makes us
emotionally understand him to a greater degree.
I'm excited to see how this performance will be recieved in the weeks to come by others
too, but I think for me, this is definetely one of
the very best this year, showing a actor transform and develop over time through every detail
he brings in his performance.
I'm giving Elvis a rating of 8.5 out of 10.
But to those who have already seen the film, what did you
think of Baz Luhrmann's Elvis and do you agree that it's a good film, elevated even further
by the performance of Austin Butler.
Let me know down below in the comments section.
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