Elvis (2022)

No one makes movies like Baz Luhrmann. I adore his impressionistic storytelling style and the way he uses anachronistic elements to ground a historical drama firmly in a modern audience's experience. He seems perfect to be the one telling the story of the larger than life Elvis Presley and he pulls it off with this bombastic and emotional biopic. 

Luhrmann takes us on a ride. He starts out full tilt and rarely takes moments to breath. But when he does those moments hit hard. His approach is to give us the feelings of his narrative, even if the details are fudged or glamourized. He isn't making a documentary. He's possessing us with the spirt of the King of Rock and Roll. This is a séance and we are witnessing a spirited return. 

Austin Butler truly inhabits Elvis, truly brings him to life, playing part parody, part melodrama, part tribute, part subtle inspiration. He both rises to the operatic level of Luhrmann's film and grounds it in a real human under the layers of make up and sweat. And while Hanks' portrayal of the Colonel is controversial, for me it worked 100%, letting Hanks play against type as a complicated antagonist that wasn't always despicable but also unredeemed. Yes he plays him as a comic villain but he does so in a way that allows him to be both larger than life and in no way a simple portrait. Hanks does wonderful work here unlike we are used to seeing him. 

But this is Luhrmann's show, and he delivers by capturing the rapturous emotion of the Elvis phenomenon in a visual and musical language the 21st century can understand. As he did with creating the roaring 20s for his Gatsby retelling,  he takes Presley's music and gives it the kind of post-modern explosion it needs to have the effect on us as an audience that he had on audiences of the time. The musical pedigree here is amazing from Gary Clark Jr. in the film to the incredible artists interpreting Presley's work on the soundtrack. What a spectacular spectacular!

And it is a simply beautiful film. Gorgeous to watch as it washes over us and overwhelms us as a Luhrmann film does. It wraps us up in an Elvis bedtime story. It is tragedy and warning and fantasy. The film blurs the edges a bit. I wish the film had been more responsible exploring his relationship with the underage Pricilla and the film's timeline is wonky. But its flaws were mostly overcome for me with its sweeping scope that swept me away.  

Elvis

Starring: Austin Butler, Tom Hanks, Olivia DeJonge, Helen Thompson, Richard Roxburgh, David Wenham, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Kodi Smith-McPhee, Alton Mason, Gary Clark Jr., Anthony La Paglia

Director: Baz Luhrmann

Writers: Sam Bromell, Craige Pearce, Jeremy Donor, Baz Luhrmann