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Elvis (2022)
The chief takeaway from this picture is the phenomenal performance of Austin Butler as Elvis Presley. It’s hard to imagine how anyone could have done a better job. His uncanny resemblance to Elvis, his stage mannerisms, his subtle expressions, dancing, and overall sex appeal were as if Elvis were reborn. Butler even did his own singing when portraying the younger Elvis, although Elvis’ voice was at least partially dubbed in when Butler’s older Elvis sang.
What trivialized the film were its gaudy and exaggerated depictions of Elvis’ early life in Tupelo, Mississippi, and his visits to the center of blues in Memphis, Beale Street. Although the featured blues singers sang well, their speakeasy type settings and performances were presented with a magnified sleaze to the point of parody. In street and crowd scenes its as if the film rocketed to a whiz bang musical extravaganza ala West Side Story, with larger than life coordinated crowd scenes presented in a near psychedelic Technicolor fashion. By telling a tale that itself is larger than life, presenting that story in an over the top staging canceled out the impact of it. Elvis’ meteoric rise to fame would have been better represented if the producers would have toned down his early influences and career start.
I was 14 when Heartbreak Hotel hit the radio airwaves with a bang. Younger audiences were immediately taken in. By the time Hound Dog soon followed, we were completely hooked. It was only later that I learned that his early version of That’s All Right recorded at Sam Phillip’s Sun Studio in Memphis had been immediately played on the air at a local radio station. The response was instant and immense, with many phone calls inquiring who the young singer was, and which high school did he attend (so as to learn whether the singer was black or white). That was the event that started Elvis’ rise to fame. He subsequently used that song in his appearances on the Louisiana Hayride on radio, then TV. If one listens to that early Sun Studio recording (available on YouTube), Presley’s bluesy and evocative vocal styling is galvanizing and completely fresh.
Reports of Elvis made much of Presley’s manager, Col. Tom Parker (Tom Hanks) and that the story was told from his point of view. But for an early scene, and one near the end featuring Parker on his death bed, the story ala Parker never really registered. As a matter of fact it’s a mystery trying to understand what they were trying to do with Parker. Hanks did a creditable performance, but we’re left to understand how Parker really viewed his relationship with Elvis. Hanks used an accent, presumably to connote Parker’s Dutch heritage, but the accent was merely generically foreign sounding without much reference to Dutch, which was often sing-song in nature. But in fact Parker’s real speaking voice was not foreign sounding at all. It was more of a mid Atlantic American accent. Certainly there are any number of actors who might have been better cast than Hanks, but presumably Warner Bros. wanted to have a hefty name in the production to commercially add to audience attraction.
The film did truthfully feature some of Presley’s highlights and a few lowlights, but there were several scenes and story lines that were fabricated. For example Presley and Parker never visited a house of mirrors or rode on a Ferris wheel for serious conversation, nor did Presley ever fire Parker on stage during a show at the International Hotel. And some of the interesting incidents in his life were left out. I think the producers fell into the trap that many Hollywood biopics have done: They believe that to make the story important or attractive, it must be presented in a distorted extravagant manner, over emphasizing certain facets in order to drive home its worth.
The quality of the music, both featured and incidental, was of a high quality, which one would expect in a music biopic. Executive music producer Elliott Wheeler helmed an impressive array of songs and performances, while arranging those choices and providing incidental music. Next to Butler’s performance, Wheeler’s work was one of the most important portions of the movie.
Elvis was a highly anticipated film. While it had its missteps, it is a review of one of American history’s most important popular legends-- a man who remains the best selling solo music artist of all time. His vocal ability allowed him to sing in many styles: rock, ballad, country, gospel and others. And his importance to culture in the mid Twentieth Century is inestimable. This film is a worthwhile view of Elvis Presley’s legend and legacy.
Doc’s rating: 7/10
The chief takeaway from this picture is the phenomenal performance of Austin Butler as Elvis Presley. It’s hard to imagine how anyone could have done a better job. His uncanny resemblance to Elvis, his stage mannerisms, his subtle expressions, dancing, and overall sex appeal were as if Elvis were reborn. Butler even did his own singing when portraying the younger Elvis, although Elvis’ voice was at least partially dubbed in when Butler’s older Elvis sang.
What trivialized the film were its gaudy and exaggerated depictions of Elvis’ early life in Tupelo, Mississippi, and his visits to the center of blues in Memphis, Beale Street. Although the featured blues singers sang well, their speakeasy type settings and performances were presented with a magnified sleaze to the point of parody. In street and crowd scenes its as if the film rocketed to a whiz bang musical extravaganza ala West Side Story, with larger than life coordinated crowd scenes presented in a near psychedelic Technicolor fashion. By telling a tale that itself is larger than life, presenting that story in an over the top staging canceled out the impact of it. Elvis’ meteoric rise to fame would have been better represented if the producers would have toned down his early influences and career start.
I was 14 when Heartbreak Hotel hit the radio airwaves with a bang. Younger audiences were immediately taken in. By the time Hound Dog soon followed, we were completely hooked. It was only later that I learned that his early version of That’s All Right recorded at Sam Phillip’s Sun Studio in Memphis had been immediately played on the air at a local radio station. The response was instant and immense, with many phone calls inquiring who the young singer was, and which high school did he attend (so as to learn whether the singer was black or white). That was the event that started Elvis’ rise to fame. He subsequently used that song in his appearances on the Louisiana Hayride on radio, then TV. If one listens to that early Sun Studio recording (available on YouTube), Presley’s bluesy and evocative vocal styling is galvanizing and completely fresh.
Reports of Elvis made much of Presley’s manager, Col. Tom Parker (Tom Hanks) and that the story was told from his point of view. But for an early scene, and one near the end featuring Parker on his death bed, the story ala Parker never really registered. As a matter of fact it’s a mystery trying to understand what they were trying to do with Parker. Hanks did a creditable performance, but we’re left to understand how Parker really viewed his relationship with Elvis. Hanks used an accent, presumably to connote Parker’s Dutch heritage, but the accent was merely generically foreign sounding without much reference to Dutch, which was often sing-song in nature. But in fact Parker’s real speaking voice was not foreign sounding at all. It was more of a mid Atlantic American accent. Certainly there are any number of actors who might have been better cast than Hanks, but presumably Warner Bros. wanted to have a hefty name in the production to commercially add to audience attraction.
The film did truthfully feature some of Presley’s highlights and a few lowlights, but there were several scenes and story lines that were fabricated. For example Presley and Parker never visited a house of mirrors or rode on a Ferris wheel for serious conversation, nor did Presley ever fire Parker on stage during a show at the International Hotel. And some of the interesting incidents in his life were left out. I think the producers fell into the trap that many Hollywood biopics have done: They believe that to make the story important or attractive, it must be presented in a distorted extravagant manner, over emphasizing certain facets in order to drive home its worth.
The quality of the music, both featured and incidental, was of a high quality, which one would expect in a music biopic. Executive music producer Elliott Wheeler helmed an impressive array of songs and performances, while arranging those choices and providing incidental music. Next to Butler’s performance, Wheeler’s work was one of the most important portions of the movie.
Elvis was a highly anticipated film. While it had its missteps, it is a review of one of American history’s most important popular legends-- a man who remains the best selling solo music artist of all time. His vocal ability allowed him to sing in many styles: rock, ballad, country, gospel and others. And his importance to culture in the mid Twentieth Century is inestimable. This film is a worthwhile view of Elvis Presley’s legend and legacy.
Doc’s rating: 7/10