I’m not going to spin a yarn about growing up listening to Elvis as if he had much of an impact on my life.
My grandparents listened to him now and again, but, outside of that, he was virtually non-existent in our household.
However, despite Elvis’ faults as a person, he did a lot for the music world – good and bad.
Sadly, this over-stylized biopic of him just glosses over the harsh truths in Presley’s life until the last 30 minutes of the film.
I can only explain that it’s sort of like when you’re on a carnival ride that takes too long to end and just spins you around before letting you off; where time stops and seems to last forever – it’s just the worst!
Elvis’ meteoric rise to fame in his heyday and overall biographical history seem to be heavily embellished and loosely tied together for the sake of this film.
Elvis is a 2022 biographical musical film directed by Baz Luhrmann, who co-wrote the screenplay with Sam Bromell, Craig Pearce, and Jeremy Doner.
The film follows the life of rock and roll icon Elvis Presley, told from the perspective of his manager, Colonel Tom Parker.
It stars Austin Butler in the title role with Tom Hanks as Parker and Olivia DeJonge, Helen Thomson, Richard Roxburgh, Kelvin Harrison Jr., David Wenham, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Luke Bracey in supporting roles.
The film is rated PG-13 for substance abuse, strong language, suggestive material, and smoking and is roughly 159 minutes long.
In 1997, Elvis Presley’s former manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Hanks), is on his deathbed looking back on how he first met the future King of Rock and Roll.
In the early days, Elvis (Butler) had battled a poverty-ridden childhood with his parents Vernon (Roxburgh) and Gladys (Thomson).
He finds music to be a salvation, even though he is ridiculed by his peers because of his fascination with the African American music of Memphis’ Beale Street.
Parker is a carnival “huckster” who fancies himself a modern-day PT Barnum, playing upon the gullible nature of his audience.
Although Parker is already managing country singer Hank Snow (Wenham), as soon as he hears Presley on the radio, he seems to be impressed with what he hears and has aspirations of becoming his manager.
Parker eventually meets and persuades Elvis to let him take control of his career, which begins a meteoric ascent.
However, not all of the public is impressed with the young entertainer – as is to be expected.
Many parents fear that his music is corrupting their children, and racist politicians also attack him for his involvement with black musicians.
After a violent incident at a concert that turned into a riot, Elvis finds himself facing possible jail time.
However, it is implied that Parker persuades the government to draft Elvis into the U.S. Army as a way of avoiding any further legal entanglements. During his time in the service, Elvis discovers that Gladys has died of alcoholism and it takes a huge toll on the musician.
And this is where it gets really depressing and seems to drag on forever.
We all know that in the end, the story of Elvis isn’t a happy one, but, this is just painful to watch on the big screen.
I’m fully endorsing this for avid fans of the “King of Rock and Roll” but, anyone else can get the same depressing experience by renting it or waiting for it to stream online.
