Elvis

Elvis is a sensory overload of a biofilm, but for once, it works in its favor because of the life it's telling.  Director Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge!, The Great Gatsby) uses every cinematic flourish in the book, from special effects, to rapid-fire editing, to multiple montages playing on split screens, and even comic book-style animation.  And while I did find myself a bit exhausted, both by the excess and the over two and a half hour running time, it was of a good sort.  I was enjoying the excess for once, because it fit the life of the man, and was probably the only way "The King's" story could be told.

Even from the start, with Elvis' notorious manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks, great at being oily and unlikable for once) practically on his deathbed and wandering the empty halls of a Vegas casino, the movie lets us know that it won't exactly be going for subtlety.  He will serve as the Narrator, as well as the Ringmaster of the three-ring circus that was Elvis' celebrity life.  He tells us up front that he is not the villain of the story, though there are many who would say so.  He also denies that he was responsible for overworking the celebrity to death.  Instead, he blames the masses, who wanted more of Elvis than the man could give.  And yet, despite saying this, he is haunted by the memories of his star late in life, barely able to function, being pumped full of drugs so that he can perform that night, with the Colonel's only concern being that Elvis be up on stage.

The story of Elvis (Austin Butler, giving an Oscar-worthy performance), and his rise and fall, is also the story of Colonel Parker, and how all that mattered was to keep the money rolling in no matter what.  The health and well-being of his superstar mattered little.  As long as the crowd was going wild, that's what was important.  A six-week stint at a casino turned into years, because it meant more money for Parker.  If Elvis was run down and unable to perform, just pump him full of fluids until he could.  He emphasized the merchandise (he even sold items that were meant to sell to people who hated the singing star), and the countless movies.  As long as the money was coming in, everything else came second, particularly the personal needs of the man he represented.  

This is not exactly an imaginative telling of the singer's story, like 2019's Rocketman, which told Elton John's story as a lavish and fantasy-rich musical, using his songs to tell the story.  Elvis hits all the expected beats of most music biopics, with the singer coming from a rough childhood, finding some early fame, and then having his career take off, and the eventual excess, crash, and failed relationships that come with fame.  But what helps it stand out is the fact that Luhrmann has made the story into such a cinematic spectacle, which really does fit in telling Elvis' story.  There's a certain honesty and realness to how the story is being told, yet the visual style and direction that is brought to the film makes it seem grander than life at times.  The film is not going for fantasy per se, rather it is kind of blending the facts of Elvis' life with the spectacle and trickery of a carnival act, which was Colonel Parker's background before he got into music.  No matter how much of an assault on the senses the movie can be at times, it never seems inappropriate or hollow.  This is a director in love with cinematic excess, yet is skilled with it, and isn't doing it just because he can.

For all of the technical wizardry on display, the film's greatest feat is how it humanizes Elvis, who has largely become a parody or a live action cartoon character in the eyes of many over the years.  I said it before, but Butler is truly giving one of the great performances of the year here.  He is sensational as a man who grows from a wide-eyed innocent who kind of wants to be the hero of his own story, like the ones he used to read about in comic books when he was growing up, to a true superstar the likes of which the world had never seen at the time.  He becomes a controversial figure on TV, and the Colonel's attempts to control his image and how Elvis wants to be portrayed takes center for most of the film.  Even though it is Parker who is telling the story, the film does an excellent job of lifting the curtain, and seeing the Elvis behind the superstar image who was haunted by the death of his beloved mother, constantly conflicted about how he wanted to be seen by others, and feeling like he had no control over his own life.

This is why the movie works, and what gives Elvis such tremendous power.  The trademark over abundance of style that Luhrmann always brings to this film is present, but behind it all, there is a real story that is digging deep into the subject matter.  Those who dismiss this as style over substance are missing the real emotional success of this movie, which is to show us the tragedy behind the man.  If the movie often resembles a three-ring circus, then Elvis himself is constantly in the middle, a sad clown who is watching the world flying apart all around him, and he feels powerless.  As he dives into substance abuse, he becomes even more powerless, and it all leads up to that scene where we first saw him, where he is barely able to move or function, and Parker is barking at his crew to do what it takes to get him out on the stage before the fans.

The real tragedy is that Elvis did not matter to many of the people around him, save a select few.  To a lot of the people who knew or worked alongside him, he was an image and a source of income.  This movie reminds of who the man truly was, and so while I felt exhausted by the end, I did not feel beaten down.  I was a bit sad, a bit reflective, and I had a lot to think about after it was over.

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