Elvis Review: Austin Butler shines in fast-paced biopic

Baz Luhrmann‘s fast-paced, glitzy approach is all over Elvis. An excellent biopic that falls in between Bohemian Rhapsody and the superior Rocketman.

Austin Butler is terrific as Elvis. From the singing to mannerisms, Butler embodies the King of Rock and Roll without doing a surface-level imitation.

The one hindrance at times is Luhrmann himself. His quick-edit style is perfect for capturing the concert sequences and the glitzy Las Vegas 3rd act. Elvis, as a film, is at its best, when it slows down and allows Butler to be Elvis.

One of the best scenes in the film is a conversation between Elvis and B.B. King. It’s a long scene that captures the appeal Elvis can have. There are not enough scenes showing what Elvis himself is thinking and feeling. Here’s a man who could have had a profound impact on human rights given his platform and musical influences, but largely squandered it by listening to the wrong people.

Luhrmann and his fellow screenwriters Sam Bromell, Craig Pearce and Jeremy Doner make a bold decision to tell this story from Colonel Tom Parker’s perspective. Tom Hanks does way too much as Parker and the prosthetics are distracting throughout the film. Parker is a conman who essentially stole half of Elvis’s fortune. Throughout the film, Parker never does anything without benefiting himself. Elvis does a bite back at times, but he can never sever ties with the man.

The film does a terrible job of addressing Elvis’s relationship with Priscilla. Luhrmann glosses over the fact that the relationship started when Elvis was in his twenties and Priscilla was 14 years old. The film does address Elvis using music created by black artists. However, it’s mostly from the point of view that Elvis can use the music, but at times could be a disservice to the black artist.

From a production aspect, Elvis is gorgeous to look at and hear. Luhrmann’s incorporation of contemporary music with period-appropriate selections is terrific.

Elvis flies highest thanks to Butler’s performance, which should vault the younger actor into awards consideration.

With the overview out of the way, let’s dive deeper into the elements that stood out in Elvis. There may be some minor spoilers.

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The Influences of Elvis

Luhrmann does a great job of establishing the influence gospel music has on young Elvis. He sneaks into a church at one point and is instantly enthralled. From the moment Elvis hops on stage, he takes that energy he felt and translates it to the crowd. The way Butler moves, sings and engages the audience with his eyes is wonderful.

As Elvis’s fame begins to grow, he begins to feel more lonely and anxious. His family is no respite. His Mom drinks heavily and outwardly shows disappointment in her son’s choice of employment. There’s also a subtle resentment due to the death of Elvis’s twin brother. Elvis’s father is a weak-willed criminal who fails to protect his son at every turn.

Elvis’s only relief in Memphis is the black community. When at his most broken, Elvis seeks out blues artists like Big Mama Thornton and B.B. King. These moments are small moments early in the film, but it’s also when Butler shines the most. It’s really the only time where Elvis openly contemplates the type of artist and star he wants to be. Will he play it safe or will he use his platform for civil rights? After all, he knows as a white man his punishment will pale in comparison to a black artist.

Born a Gamblin’ Man

Parker is a carnival man. He puts on concerts in whatever rundown, small-town he ends up in. When he hears about this skinny boy from Mississippi from a gospel record label drawing a crowd, well Parker just has to check out the kid.

From the moment he pops up on screen, everything Parker does is self-serving not to mention racist. Every deal, not just Las Vegas, is made without Elvis’s consent. Elvis is deeply affected by the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis. Parker’s response is that it has nothing to do with us. Even if Presley’s musical influence weren’t blues and gospel, the assassination occurred in his hometown of Memphis.

Elvis response is to rebel at a local concert which results in his arrest. For the first time, Elvis disobeys Parker. To keep things quiet, Parker convinces Elvis to join the military, which will hopefully quiet the media.

Elvis meets Priscilla overseas and falls in love. The love story is poorly handled regardless of the problematic age difference. I don’t know why Elvis loves Priscilla or vice versa beyond a teenage crush by the latter.

Elvis has another moment of rebellion. After the JFK assassination, Elvis’s supposedly family-friendly Christmas special is turned into a protest and consequently Elvis’s best song, “If I Can Dream” is born as a result. Each time Elvis rebels, his popularity grows. Yet he can never fully sever ties with Parker. Every time Parker regains control he reigns Elvis in and prevents Elvis from having the type of influence he could have had.

Viva Las Vegas

The Las Vegas section of Elvis represents the King’s descent into a drug-induced stupor, weight gain and affair after affair. Initially, the idea is Elvis will spend a few weeks in Vegas, where The International Hotel will pay for everything. After the success, he’d use the funds to support an international tour, which will broaden his base.

Parker is a gambling addict with massive debts. Parker agrees to a 5-year stay in Vegas without Elvis’s consent. Parker’s debts are forgiven and he gets a little something extra.

During one concert, Elvis is attacked on stage. While not clear, there’s definitely a subtle hint that the supposed attack was orchestrated by Parker. Leading up to the attack, Parker is unabashedly against the international tour. He won’t get any money during the tour and can’t travel overseas. His way of sowing doubt into Elvis’s head is to constantly talk about security. Then, all of a sudden this attack happens on stage.

When Elvis does try to sever ties, it comes across as too little too late. Elvis is a man full of unfulfilled promises and this film captures that aspect very well.

Elvis Final Thoughts

The 1st two acts are the strongest aspects of Elvis. The intersection between Elvis and race is fantastic, there just needed to be more focus on that subject. Butler shines in every scene of the film. I just wish the film had slowed down more to really let certain emotional beats hit harder. Elvis has a deeper story to tell. Unfortunately, Luhrmann breezes past these scenes too fast.

On the good side, the fast-paced approach gives infectious energy to the concert sequences. Also, as the drug-induced episodes grow, the fast-paced editing does a great of selling Elvis’s paranoia.

Like the artist himself, Elvis is a very good film, that could have been the king of musical biopics with a few changes.