Elvis (2022)
SHOULD I SEE IT?
YES
Austin Butler. Believe the hype.
Baz Luhrmann’s unique, visionary take on the stories he tells makes his tackling Elvis Presley’s life story a potentially fascinating mix of styles.
Though there are a few cool down moments, Elvis runs at a breakneck pace and seldom pauses. The film is all dazzle, sizzle, and spectacle.
NO
It’s Elvis - largely told through the narration of Col. Tom Parker. A decision that misfires tremendously, with the rare confounding performance from Tom Hanks.
Luhrmann’s trademark approach of hyperkinetic editing, rapid-fire scene transition and swirling, whirling cameras does not fit with the Elvis story. The razzle-dazzle feels as if Luhrmann is overcompensating for a story he didn’t believe in.
An exhausting experience - Elvis, and Austin Butler especially, deserved better.
OUR REVIEW
You know, I don’t think I want a 240-minute version of Elvis. Honestly, I barely could sit through the 159-minute Baz Luhrmann “experience,” that ultimately becomes a punishing, unrelenting cacophony of images, sound and chaos.
Somehow this is supposed to capture the essence and enigmatic power of the legendary Elvis Presley. As someone who has appreciated Luhrmann’s work in the past, this is not an indictment on his being an out-of-the-box, creative, maximalist-type of storyteller. Instead, Elvis indicates that Luhrmann, similarly to how he approached The Great Gatsby, has completely misread or misunderstood his assignment. His approach here, with this subject and this material, does not work at all.
Undeniably, Elvis Presley is someone whose bigger-than-life persona transcended music and entertainment. The voice, the look, the unquenchable desire of his fans to know his every single move preceded being a celebrity in the social media age. And though Luhrmann and his team of screenwriters veer away from some of the more dogged and salacious rumors which emerged after Elvis’ death in 1977, he seemed largely protected by the limited access fans had to celebrities in his heyday.
Instead, we throw a diversion at the audience and Luhrmann wants our focus on the real problematic guy in the Elvis Presley universe. The master manipulator of the King of Rock and Roll - his manager Col. Tom Parker (Tom Hanks).
For all its dazzling visuals, kinetic editing, and a stunning breakout performance by Austin Butler in the title role, we get Hanks’ halting accent and garish look dictating our walk through Elvis’ rise to superstardom. Saddled with varying degrees of distracting makeup and excessively heavy fat suits, Hanks chews up all the scenery he can get his hands on in this dizzying, cinematic whirlwind. More on him in a moment.
Most frustrating perhaps is that Luhrmann’s theatrics bury his lead. If you can thicket through the whizzes, whirls, pops, and bangs, Butler stands enigmatic and captivating. He follows in the footsteps of Rami Malek’s Oscar-winning turn as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody and Taron Egerton’s overlooked performance as Elton John in Rocketman. Quite honestly, his work here might be the best of the bunch. He commands the screen when given the chance to do so - his voice and presence is impeccable, dissolving into the role and capturing much of the essence of “The King.”
Make no mistake, Austin Butler is the real deal.
Yet for the first hour or so, Butler seems to be fighting against his director’s impulses. Luhrmann’s trademark camera swings, quick cuts, and rollercoaster visual storytelling misses much of the impact in our understanding of what led a young Elvis to embrace music and break away from an impoverished childhood. Elements are there - some scenes get a chance to breathe - but Luhrmann’s decision to have Parker narrate the story is ineffective. Would it not be better to hear it from the perspective of the person whose name is on the marquee?
Once Elvis leaves everything behind and he outshines traditional country singer Hank Snow (David Wenham) on a promotional tour, everyone recognizes that Elvis’ music and stage persona is unlike anything anyone has ever seen. Like a typical biopic does, Luhrmann walks us through the highlights - his provocative dancing and gyrations on stage titillate women (and more than a few men) in the audience, his stage performances are declared obscene, he starts having one-night stands with female fans, and is introduced to drugs and alcohol. When he brushes up against some legal troubles, Parker arranges for him to enlist in the military and it is while stationed in Germany he meets his future wife Priscilla (Olivia DeJonge).
In his 2001 masterpiece, Moulin Rouge!, Luhrmann was able to create an entirely unique and innovative, immersive world of music, sound, visual effects, and storytelling. The stylish, sweeping romantic tale embraced his main characters, and the film was built around the love story portrayed by Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor.
Rather than build a movie around Austin Butler, he drops him into an Elvis movie that feels like it was made without his character or performance in mind. Much of the film simply feels inauthentic.
Hanks’ portrayal of Col. Parker is that of a slovenly, loathsome beast of a human being. The film certainly amplifies his despicable nature. Luhrmann and team use his dying days in Las Vegas to show him gleefully playing slots and roulette wheels while wearing a hospital gown and pulling IV bags through dreamlike casino settings.
The message is abundantly clear that Elvis was putty in Parker’s hands. It’s unclear whether Luhrmann and his writing team realize how much agency they strip away from their main character with this approach. At times, Elvis seems like a pawn or a puppet. Maybe he was. Or maybe there was something of a sycophantic co-dependency that both men fell into, needing to feel as if that gave them a greater purpose and justification for all the bad behavior and poor decisions each were making.
Good luck figuring out the why in all of this. In short, Hanks’ performance, like the script and overall presentation, misses badly. The film is a structural failure. Butler, who pours his heart and soul into every moment, deserves so much more.
CAST & CREW
Starring: Austin Butler, Tom Hanks, Olivia DeJonge, Helen Thomson, Richard Roxburgh, Kelvin Harrison Jr., David Wenham, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Gary Clark Jr., Yola, Alton Mason, Luke Bracey, Dacre Montgomery, Leon Ford, Shonka Dukureh, Josh McConville, Kate Mulvany, Gareth Davies
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Written by: Baz Luhrmann, Sam Bromell, Craig Pearce, Jeremy Doner (screenplay); Baz Luhrmann, Jeremy Doner (story)
Release Date: June 24, 2022
Warner Bros.