Elvis

If you’re looking for a biopic, you’ve come to the right place. It seems churlish to think that a nearly three-hour film could feel incomplete but when said film concerns the life of Elvis Presley, the thought makes more sense.

A Little Less Conversation, a little more action please is not something that applies to Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, a wild ride through the life and times of one of the most vital musicians that ever was.

Suspicious Minds will be instantly converted by the sheer charisma of the thing. Luhmann was a great choice to direct and imbues the performance scenes in particular with his usual razzmatazz. If your feet are not tapping in your seat then you have no soul.

You might say Don’t Be Cruel but it sadly, and surprisingly, doesn’t quite take the mantle of the greatest of all biopics (with Control, Rocketman and Walk The Line three examples of those still above it.) The early trailers and the sheer style of the thing should see it waltz away with the prize but, as aforementioned, there’s a surprising amount of story left out and we’re left with a film that moves beautifully between what effectively are massive set pieces with not a lot of meaty content in between.

Now That’s All Right in large part, Elvis’ story is well-known and basking in the joyous emotion of audiences seeing him perform for the first time suits the overall metaphor of the film that Luhrmann shoots for; that the relationship between Elvis and his audience was his true addiction and driving motivation. It just feels like there’s more of the ‘man’ hidden behind the presented ‘legend’.

You Can’t Help Falling In Love with Austin Butler’s portrayal. Whilst chances of digging under the skin are few the immersion into the role is truly something to behold. A certain Oscar frontrunner, Butler sweats star quality. He just ‘feels’ like Elvis, every movement, his swaggering walk, the voice, it’s all there. Choosing to keep him somewhat mysterious and almost tease his appearances onscreen before they come does work to make the film a big blockbuster-style musical but, again, it can leave you wanting a little more.

Tom Hank’s Colonel Parker is the film’s Devil In Disguise, Luhrmann making no bones as to who he sees as the villain of the piece. Hanks is gloriously pantomime-like, but this also serves to make the film more of a highlights reel than a true portrayal. Whilst Parker certainly exploited Elvis and had a painfully strange hold over him the decision to have him bookend the film, and narrate over some of it, doesn’t quite feel like the right move. The narration helps alleviate some exposition but the scenes with Parker alone aren’t what we’re here to see and it detracts from the overall narrative.

The first half of the film where we see Elvis’ pre-army career and the way he burst into people’s consciousness unfortunately leaves the latter part of the film playing catch up. The ’68 comeback special is brilliantly depicted but the latter years of Elvis’ life playing out on Vegas stages feels a tad overlong and drags the film to the end of that hefty runtime. It feels like Luhrmann slightly runs out of steam, the more stylistic touches (like Elvis’ entourage having their names appear like credits on the screen as he moves into Hollywood) disappear and we lose a little sight of what’s happening in the wider world.

You could argue that that's what happened to the man himself, he saw the British Invasion bands move quickly past him at a time when he could have competed with them, for example, but this thought is left as a throwaway comment. We also don't really see any of Elvis' films, a fair chunk of his early life is skipped past and it feels in service to an ending stretch that doesn't deliver.

Nit-picking the film though feels like nit-picking Elvis' career. Sure, there's an argument that there may just have been a little more there but what we have is something larger than life, showstoppingly charismatic and supremely entertaining. A glorious tribute to an icon, if not the full portrayal of the man.

4 stars ****