MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY FILM INQUIRER

The life of the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Aaron Presley, gets the Baz Luhrmann treatment, covering from his childhood to his tragic end and all the fame filled in-between. 

Biopics are a tricky genre to tackle. To deal with the crucial true moments, portray the essence of someone and, when they’re a musical artist, nail their vocals and performance, adds a level of difficulty that is not easy for any actor. A musical biopic typically goes one of two pathways. There is the route of Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), where the film doesn’t try to replicate the voice, and there is the route of Walk The Line (2005), where the actor, for better or worse, does. Elvis takes the latter route for the most part. Like Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayal of Johnny Cash in Walk the Line (2005), Austin Butler sings like the eponymous star with uncanny accuracy. Butler’s voice imitation is so exact that you’d be hard pressed to tell where they blend it with the real Presley’s when the film reaches the later stages of Elvis’s life.

Luhrmann struck gold with Butler. Beyond how he can imitate Presley’s voice, the energy Butler infuses into the musical numbers is captivating to watch. They are also the scenes when Luhrmann’s fantastical directorial style shines best. When Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks), Presley’s long-time warden manager, witnesses Elvis incite hysterics in the female audience for the first time, one could believe that these women aren’t acting but naturally reacting to Butler’s own magnetic performance. Butler does not just shine musically either, but in scenes as Presley the person portrays Elvis with such nuance. Butler peels out the layers. There’s the eager ambition of Presley, carrying out Parker’s plan and manipulating his parents to sign a deal for him. The vulnerable closeness that Presley displays in his relationship with his mother, Gladys (Helen Thomson). And there is the resigned sadness. A sadness that comes when Elvis accepts the Vegas cage Parker has forced him into when he hits Elvis with an 8 million dollar itemised bill for firing him. Unfortunately, Butler is not allowed to shine and flex more or as much as he should be due to Luhrmann’s attention to Colonel Parker.

Though it’s a biopic titled Elvis (2022), the film takes the unconventional approach of having Parker as the film’s narrator. Events around Elvis’s life are thus told through his perspective. When Presley dies in 1977, Parker recounts that Elvis’s love for his fans led to his death. In reality, he reportedly died from a heart attack attributed to his ailing health, ailing in part due to Presley’s drug addiction that Parker overlooked as long as it kept him on stage. The very definition of an unreliable narrator. This narration becomes quite jarring when also considering Hanks’s choice of accent. Hanks chooses to diverge from Parker’s real voice, instead using a jumbled mix of American and Dutch. Seemingly the actor’s choice alludes to Parker’s Dutch heritage, which was a highly kept secret. 

While viewing Elvis’s life from Parker’s perspective can be infuriating at times, it puts the film in the viewpoint of a dark cautionary tale. A cautionary tale of ambition and fame achieved by making a deal with the devil or, in Parker’s case, The Snowman. Parker is played as a predatory figure. When he first sees Elvis at a show, he chases after him, circling as Elvis talks with his band and mother before a set. Elvis is unaware of the danger lurking in the shadows. Parker uses his carnival connections to corner Presley in a mirrored house, cutting him off from his friends so they can talk alone. The isolation that Parker orchestrates over Elvis is a recurring theme throughout the film. 

Elvis is a film that is more fantastical than biographical. Situating the audience to view history through the eyes of the manipulative showman Colonel Tom Parker, it feels like more of a tale where the villain wins. Luhrmann excels at showcasing Elvis Presley’s dynamic musical performances and their effect on fans: the manic adoration that takes them over when Elvis is around. Where the film suffers is not enough moments looking behind the performer, lead Austin Butler given morsels to explore the man. For the limited attention to the title character, Elvis is misleading. A more apt title would be The Greatest Show on Earth: Elvis, for that’s all that Parker saw his star as.

3/5 stars

Elvis can be seen and heard in cinemas now.