Baz Luhrmann's "Elvis" biopic isn't really about Elvis Presley (Austin Butler) as a musician or as an entertainer. It's about Elvis as a more mythic figure, as seen through the eyes of his longtime manager, Col. Tom Parker (Tom Hanks). This Elvis is an embodiment of the American dream as it existed in the 1950s, a poor white singer who rose to superstardom by singing African-American music, and breaking the rules of the entertainment industry, before spiraling in his later years to a tragic early death. Parker is positioned as the villain of the piece, the evil, greedy Svengali behind the scenes who ended up killing his golden goose. Baz, as reliable a showman as ever, relays the story through 159 minutes packed with music, melodrama, and the best spectacle money can buy. Some of it's laughable. Some of it's brilliant, and the whole thing is a lot of fun to watch.
I admit I know very little about Elvis, except for the omnipresent pop culture figure he became in the '80s and '90s: a pompadoured, jump-suited, overweight crooner who was the frequent subject of supermarket tabloid conspiracy stories. There were so many depictions of him secretly alive, it never really sunk in that he'd died young, at forty-two, and his career only spanned about twenty years, from 1956 to 1977. Of course, those were turbulent and memorable years, and the film benefits from gleefully plowing through a ton of history at a breakneck pace. Luhrmann's depiction of Elvis is very idealized, and very informed by present day mores. Elvis's popularity is attributed squarely to his willingness to ignore the color line, and play black music and dance provocatively in an era when both were taboo. He's shown taking influences from black Beale Street musicians, including Big Mama Thornton, and palling around with B.B. King. When Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated, it affects Elvis deeply.
Because the film focuses so much on the crimes of Colonel Parker, Elvis is put in the role of unwitting victim, especially in the final third of the movie. Not only does he suffer years of financial abuse and manipulation, but all of Elvis's considerable personal and professional problems now stem mainly from his inability to get out from under the Colonel's thumb. It certainly makes Elvis more sympathetic, but the filmmakers are clearly playing fast and loose with history. Priscilla (Olivia DeJonge) and the rest of the Presley clan often feel like bystanders. I can't bring myself to care much, however, because Baz and company are clearly not interested in presenting a standard Elvis biopic. Everything here is streamlined, heightened, and exaggerated all out of proportion, from the very subjective, very unreliable POV of the Colonel. They are printing the legend with no apologies, while at the same time trying to convey more cautionary messages about America and the entertainment industry and the illusory nature of fame.
And if you can accept these constructs, it's easier to swallow the version of Elvis that we're presented with. Austin Butler's Elvis is a starry eyed young rebel, willing to take a stand against the establishment, and loves his family and his fans best of all. His faults are bluntly acknowledged, but quickly elided over. Instead we get scene after scene of pulse-pounding musical performances. Butler is given every opportunity to blow our socks off, and he doesn't waste them. I'm sure we'll be seeing plenty more of him after this. Tom Hanks as Colonel Parker, on the other hand, is cartoonishly bizarre, with a terrible accent and an alarming amount of facial prosthetics. I kept thinking I'd get used to them at some point, but two and a half hours later, no such luck. It's the worst performance I've ever seen Hanks give, and miraculously it makes absolutely no difference to how well the rest of the movie works.
As with all Luhrmann films, the art direction is absolutely divine, and nothing feels kitschy in the least - not even Las Vegas in the 1970s. Contemporary artists are brought in to provide covers for some Elvis hits, with mixed results, but Austin Butler reportedly did all of his own singing, and is frequently mesmerizing onscreen. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the film's popularity turns out to be from Elvis Presley's old fanbase coming out of the woodwork to see a little of the old magic resurrected.
As for me, I think I have a better sense of Elvis's appeal, and got a glimpse of the way people saw him in the '50s and '60s, at the height of his career. And it convinced me to join his crowd of admirers, just for a little while. I honestly don't care much for his music, but it's impossible to deny he was one of the greats.
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