To tell the life of Elvis Presley and the bad of history, the manager-master Colonel Parkerinterpreted by Tom Hanks, unrecognizable due to the prosthetic make-up. But with Elvis, Baz Luhrmann, more than the person tells us the legend of Elvis, drowned in a sea of sequins and virtuosic music and montage. Two hours and 39 minutes of camp party, always on the ridge of kitsch.
The structure of the film is the classic one of hollywood biopic, with the story of the birth and death of a star. Here the original touch is to put at the center of the story the toxic relationship between the manager, a former barker from fairs, and the star, victim of the manipulation of the former. Colonel Parker who smells Elvis’ potential and puts him under contract, sends him to Europe to do military service to escape allegations of immorality, makes him big but doesn’t allow him to tour abroad, and finally squeezes him for years with the famous residency in Las Vegas, years of concerts in which Elvis had become the grotesque version of himself.
But who Elvis was from the film is never really understood, the film always stays on surface and aims to stun the viewer with i fireworks editing, music, costumes, frenetic rhythm. The young man plays Elvis Austin Butler, perfect in the role, which in the Prada onesies shows off star potential that will probably take him very far. To get into the role, Austin Butler used the Stanislavskij method, with such a deep immersion for two years that today, he told in an interview with Entertainment Weeklyhas difficulty distinguishing his voice from that of the character.
There is obviously a lot in the film music and perhaps the best scenes are the musical numbers, from the first performances with swooning fans to the sad Las Vegas shows of recent years. The scenes of Elvis’ encounter with gospel music and electric guitar result in shots of screaming fans and explosive performances, in a crescendo of music, dance and celebrity. Some critics have pointed out that important parts, such as the republican sympathies of Elvis, complete with admiration for President Nixon and his hatred of the Beatles. Instead, the film highlights the influence of black music on Elvis and the danger this posed to supporters of Elvis white supremacy.
Elvis is represented in the classic parable of the celebrity that is born, reaches its peak, then declines and dies, with the narrative voice of the manager who underlines and clarifies in a didactic way that perhaps it was not he who killed him, the villain who stole his money and life, but us, the public, or rather the public’s love: the moral of the film is served. After two and a half hours of sparks and virtuosity and pure visual-musical entertainment, but little depth.
Source: Vanity Fair
