Elvis Movie Review

Elvis (2022)

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Written by: Baz Luhrmann & Sam Bromell and Craig Pearce and Jeremy Doner (screenplay by), Baz Luhrmann and
Jeremy Doner (story by)
Directed by: Baz Luhrmann
Starring: Tom Hanks, Austin Butler, Olivia DeJonge, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Dacre Montgomery
Rated: PG-13
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Plot
The life of American music icon Elvis Presley, from his childhood to becoming a rock and movie star in the 1950s while maintaining a complex relationship with his manager, Colonel Tom Parker.

Verdict
I don't know how historically accurate this is, but it captures the energy of Elvis as he first shakes his hips and then rises to the top before he starts to decline. This is stylish which fits the subject perfectly. While there's certainly a lot of the Colonel in this story, he's an important figure in Elvis's story. The Colonel helped market Elvis but also held him back to maintain marketability. Butler does an outstanding job in the role, which isn't easy when you're playing against Hanks. The 'birth' of Elvis as a star is a must watch scene.
Watch It.

Review
This seems like a Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks) movie at the start. The Colonel's narration bookends the movie and this certainly seems to mostly be from his point of view. This movie is as much about Elvis (Austin Butler) as it is the Colonel who aggressively marketed Elvis and then pushed him to maintain that wide marketability. The Colonel got his start in the carnival and that remains apparent. Throughout the movie the Colonel defends himself on how he treated Elvis, always coming back to how he made Elvis a star. The issue with that is that Elvis would have been a star either way. Whether he would have been quite as ubiquitous is the question.

Austin Butler plays Elvis Presly

This circles back to the beginning of Elvis. The movie is certainly stylish with quick cuts and high energy typical of Lurmann. That style fits this movie really well. We get to see the 'birth' of Elvis and it's quite a scene. From a contemporary standpoint Elvis's dancing doesn't seem that wild, but back then it caused quite the controversy. The movie manages to capture the furor over those moves so well. Women are being driven crazy, and despite how benign the dancing seems, the movie captures the energy.

A looming question through the movie is whether the Colonel was just opportunistic and used Elvis or truly mistreated him and mismanaged his career. Since a lot of the movie is the Colonel telling us the story, we get it from his point of view. I do wonder whether the Colonel started this trend of merchandising to the extreme. He put Elvis's face on everything. While the Colonel sees the potential in Elvis initially, once he's established he wants Elvis to stop the dancing to maximize the marketing potential and keep it sanitized for sponsors.

Austin Butler plays Elvis Presly

It's wild what upsets people in that time period. Politicians don't like Elvis swaying to music. The movie makes it clear that the politicians' biggest reason for opposition is that the dancing is from black culture and politicians are racist.

What enamored people with Elvis was his dancing and swagger. That's where the Colonel saw potential, but once the Colonel achieves market share his goal is to cash in.The people that book Elvis want something safe, but that's not what the audience wants and it's not the reason he became a star.

Tom Hanks plays Colonel Tom Parker

I assume this movie is inspired by history and not based on it. This movie wants to evoke a mood, and it does that. This movie has a lot of the Colonel. He and Elvis are linked. What the Colonel told Elvis and what he actually did are a part of this story.  The only scene that truly reveals whether the Colonel truly mismanaged Elvis's career isn't spoken, as this is the Colonel telling the story. We see it in writing for a split second when someone passes the Colonel a note.

The movie manages to be fun and energetic, even interjecting hip hop music into a couple scenes. That energy is needed for a movie like this. It also captures Elvis's influences and aspirations while telling his life story. It's really well done. A big part of that is Austin Butler who is fantastic. He manages to capture the voice, swagger, and attitude. The problem with casting Hanks is that from the start he overshadows Butler, but Butler soon makes a case for top billing. His performance makes this movie.