A new superstar is born in Luhrmann's "Elvis"
Photo Courtesy of ABC News
Baz Luhrmann’s writing, directing and production genius made a superstar out of Austin Butler in his portrayal of Elvis Presley in his biopic film “ELVIS.” Starting the movie at the end, Presley’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks), described how he came to know the would-be music star, and he narrated the entire film from Elvis Presley’s humble origins until his passing at the early age of 42. The Mississippi-native singer was born into a poverty-ridden family and found comfort in his life via African American music, specifically rhythm and blues. By the time he was 19 years old, Presley signed on with Sun Records and debuted on airwaves while performing with a band, unknowingly starting his colossal career. From then on, the movie depicted the rocky relationship between Presley and Parker, showing how everything had a ripple effect on Presley's life, showing absolutely all of the highs and lows in his personal life and professional career.
Overall, Luhrmann delivered visuals to the max. Most notably through the carnival scene, where Presley was looking over his shoulder in Parker’s direction with all of the sights and sounds of the carnival behind him to give that deep and rustic contrast, Luhrmann showed again how he was a master of dramatization by way of visuals. That sense of beauty and grandiosity followed Presley throughout the entire movie, as seen in all of the bright lights throughout his performances, all the way up to the Vegas International Hotel. Something particularly interesting and unique about the movie were the news headlines popping up across the screen for particularly big events. For example, when Presley was accused of being vulgar, the press labeled him “Elvis the Pelvis” for his onstage movements, and the audience saw pop ups of different news outlets saying as such.
Technical aspects aside, this movie gives plenty to think about when it comes to the social parts of Presley’s life. The movie accurately depicted that the two met while he was stationed in West Germany while in the U.S. Army, and Priscilla Ann Wagner (Presley’s future wife) was there because her father was transferred there at the same time. What the movie neglected to mention was the current ages of Presley and Wagner when they met, 24 and 14 years old respectively; any reasonable person would think that’s predatory behavior. The movie completely glosses over that fact, attempting to push that under the rug of Presley’s talent and fame, which can be seen as distasteful.
Something else that jumped out was how politically outspoken Butler’s Elvis Presley wished to be. When Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated in the movie, Presley’s ears perked up, and he watched the televised memorial service distraught; in fact, so much so that Wagner joined him in watching the memorial to comfort him. When the news of Senator Robert Kennedy’s assassination broke out on television, he wanted to make a public statement about it; Presley wasn’t able to elaborate into more detail about what he’d say or where it would be before his manager shut the idea down, saying that he is a musician and should stay out of politics. The closest he came to having a political stance in the movie was when Presley was set to perform in a baseball stadium with a segregationist rally just blocks from him. Clips of the rally cut in and out with Presley declaring, “a lot of people saying a lot of things,” so it’s speculative at best as to his political activism. At the same time, that quote was self-serving for him too, because it was uttered after Presley was struggling to pinpoint his musical style and express himself in a way that stayed true to who he was as a person. Overall, it looks like the real Presley took that advice when he was asked about his opinion of world events. Presley didn’t really know how to answer them, saying he was too involved with his career to keep track of the news. (Fun fact: he did meet President Nixon!)
If Elvis was more politically involved, would he have given tribute to all of the performers he learned from on Beale Street in Memphis, the place where he was exposed to so much African American culture and music? Luhrmann put race in the spotlight alongside Presley to show that it was a vital part of his life as he transitioned from a private person surrounded by African Americans in the South to a musician who drew heavy influence from African American blues. In the movie, Presley saw Les Greene’s version of Tutti Frutti, specifically as Greene very animatedly danced while singing the hit song. After help from blues legend B.B. King and plenty of introspective work, Elvis combined African American music culture staples such as rock and roll and dance moves with country-style song and dance to become the leading pop icon of his time. While it’s beautiful to see where Elvis got his inspiration from, the audience doesn’t see him giving back to the community, giving them credit from everything he learned and took from them. Living in a world that transitioned from before-to-after the civil rights movement of the 1960s, Elvis effectively made Black music more digestible for the general public, acting as the “forbidden fruit” as Parker described in his voice over of “Elvis the Pelvis.” The easiest example in the movie is that the original singer of “Hound Dog” was Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton, who Elvis never acknowledged as his muse for his version of “Hound Dog.” The silver-lining in this is when Doja Cat’s single “Vegas” played in the background while showing clips of Thornton singing “Hound Dog.” Doja Cat’s single sampled some of Thornton’s signature growls and deep-octave vocals while giving her the freedom to add her own. Having this song in there gave “Hound Dog” a come-full-circle feeling, showing the original artist, a woman of color, then covered by Elvis, only to be covered by a woman of color again.
One of the only major drawbacks of the movie was that Presley’s progression of prescription drug abuse wasn’t crystal clear. Early on, the audience saw one of Presley’s buddies give him a pill while they were on the road to help him perform better, but that substance was never named, leaving the audience unsure if that was the moment Elvis’s drug history started. In a later scene with Presley and Wagner, he lightly tossed his toothbrush which landed next to a bottle labeled Diazepam, a drug prescribed to treat anxiety, epilepsy and alcohol withdrawal among other disorders. Nowhere was there any mention of any diagnoses from Presley’s doctors. Like many drug addictions, it progressed for the worse: later in the movie, a private doctor named “Dr. Nick” would repeatedly be seen in Presley’s orbit. In a scene in a hospital, Presley collapsed, and Dr. Nick was there to the rescue, with an intravenous drug (without specification of what it was). It’s not like Presley’s drug problem was a secret; the world knows that he used and abused them, but what is missing is when it went from bad to worse and how it led to his death.
The soundtrack of the movie is unmatched and unrivaled. Luhrmann included everyone from original Elvis Presley hits to Måneskin’s and Eminem’s original songs, all the way to Kacey Musgraves’ cover for Presley’s very own “Can’t Help Falling in Love With You.” Just like in Luhrmann’s “The Great Gatsby,” every song felt like a perfect match, hitting just the right spot for the audience when combining visuals and sound.
All in all, this biopic was fantastic to see, absolutely worth the 12 minutes of standing ovation in this year’s Cannes Film Festival. It won’t be a shock to hear that viewers want to stand up and dance every time Austin Butler sang as Elvis Presley. This movie is absolutely a hit for the summer, and viewers cannot wait to see how Luhrmann will top this movie with his next display of Hollywood glitz and glam.
