Movie Number 25 of 2022
Movie: Elvis
Cinema: Hoyts Lux, Victoria Gardens
Stars: 4.5
I remember where I was when I found out that Elvis died - it's one of those moments, like remembering the September 11 terrorist attacks, or the Tsunami or the Challenger Disaster. I was in bed, sick with a cold. It was a dreary August morning. And I remember that this was the first time I thought, 'He's the same age as my mum, and my mum might die. Such are the thoughts of a sensitive eight-year-old girl who was turning nine in a few days time, in bed with a chest cold.
Another thing - I'm not a true Elvis fan. I do like his music, but he's not a hero. If anything, I've always t found him a very tragic figure - manipulated by others for personal gain.
I'm also biased, as I LOVE Baz Luhrmann movies.
Anyway, last night, Jay took ourselves off to see Elvis. Having a voucher to use, we went the Hoyts version of Gold Class, which really, has gone down hill - or maybe we just got a bad, busy night. Needless to say, not impressed with the service, nor Jay's cold food (cold sliders, eww).
But enough of that - for me, Elvis shows the very best of Baz Luhrmann. If anything, it has all the glitz, glamour and barking madness of one of his films, but he has made it a little more accessible.
The film comes from the perspective of Colonel Tom Parker (a prosthetically enhanced Tom Hanks) who is reminiscing about his dealing with the boy wonder. Parker is a shonk of the highest order, the puppet master pulling the strings. The film looks back to Elvis' birth in Tupelo, Mississippi, through his childhood, his introduction to gospel and R&B music, through the early concerts, his service in the army, his marriage to Priscilla and the Vegas years. All of this is shown in Baz Luhrmann's inimitable style.
I found this movie somewhat tuned down - it's not as out there as Romeo+Juliet or Moulin Rouge - but more The Great Gatsby or Simply Ballroom. It's stylish and stylised without being too over the top. Besides, Elvis's real world was bonkers anyway - to tone this down would no do The King justice.
Austin Butler inhabits Elvis. His performance is bound to earn him at least an Oscar nomination. He also does a lot of the singing, and he's very good. The final scene shows an end of life singing Unchained Melody in the final weeks of his life. Archive film is blended with Butler doing the same scene - it's a stunning montage.
Butler is also VERY easy to look at.
Filmed in the early days of COVID (Remember Tom Hanks was here when he was one of the first celebrities to catch the spicy flu?), the cast is almost exclusively Australian. David Wenham plays a sideshow act from Tom Parker's early days and David Wenham portrays Elvis's father, Vernon. Helen Thomson, one of those faces you see on Australian telly, but probably can't name, plays his mother, Gladys. Melbourne actor, Olivia de Jonge plays Priscilla.
This is seriously worth a look for the whole esthetic. It's over the top, glitzy and an assault on your eyes, but in a film that partly feels like a documentary, part like an apology and part like a music video, there's something for everybody.
Most of all, this is Austin Butler's film, and it's worth the ticket price just to watch.
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