Elvis
Joseph Palumbo
Arts and Home entertainment
(Residential Or Commercial Property of Warner Bros. Pictures)
Elvis Presley is a name as ultimate to the history of American music as Abraham Lincoln is to American politics. Iconic guys, bigger than life, and captivating both to those who understood them (be it out of love or hate) and the countless those who review their legacy (likewise out of love or hate). Referred to by many as “The King of Rock-and-roll”, both his music and the image he cultivated onstage ensured his place not just in pop culture but as a milestone in modern-day music. Hailed as a hero and buffooned as a clown, Elvis has actually been the topic of both urban legends and parodies, both in life and well after his death. Even today, one can not walk down the Vegas strip without seeing the many impersonators and neon-studded tributes to “The King”.
Directed by Baz Lurhmann (understood for similarly elegant films like Moulin Rouge and The Terrific Gatsby), the story is primarily told from the perspective of Col. Tom Parker (Tom Hanks), Elvis’s misaligned manager. Rising out of hardship in Jim Crow-era Mississippi, Elvis (Adam Butler) discovers both joy and motivation in the music of his African American pals and neighbors. Despite the social mores of his time and place, he frequents the predominately black Beale Street in Memphis where he discovers a “who’s who” of legendary artists like Arthur Crudup, Little Richard, Big Mama Thorton, and B.B. King. Structure on the tunes that defined the noise of the South, Elvis’s music amazes the entire nation and in doing so makes him one of the most famous and prominent rockstars of perpetuity.
What follows is what sets this film apart from your ordinary bopic. While some would argue that the sinister record manufacturer has actually been a played out cliche in movies of this sort, Col. Parker is offered slightly more depth than such characters are normally provided. Yes, he is definitely the sort of greedy, conniving, con-man one would expect, but the film also shows uncommon occasions where Parker would lend a supportive ear and even reveal genuine pride in Presely’s achievements. Parker argues that while many would undoubtedly paint him as the bad guy of this story (as Luhrmann notes, “he’s difficult to love”), he contributed in the rise of Elvis Presely and, by proxy if not intent, the cultural turmoil that came with his popularity.
While Elvis impersonators are a dime-a-dozen, Austin Butler’s performance seems like a real attempt to enter the old “Blue Suede Shoes”. Butler represents Presley with incredible fidelity, as though he personally chose to live and breathe the life of Elvis. Although I hold little regard for the Oscars, I have no doubt in my mind that Butler will be a competitor for Best Star and it will be a well-earned nomination.
This motion picture was not the first attempt to retell Presley’s life through movie. There was a made-for-television motion picture, directed by John Carpenter and starring Kurt Russel (who, in truth, personally understood Elvis), launched just over a year after the guy’s death. However, this recent account of Presley’s life accomplished something that none before it ever did. It advises us that much of his fame was constructed by the talent and effort of others, in addition to his own.
Laudably, the film reveals the remarkable level to which his music was affected by the works of African American artists. The whole genre of rock and roll, and undoubtedly all the genres it influenced, owes its existence not just to black performers but likewise from their lived experiences in a nation that treated them as second-class residents. On very few celebrations, if any, has this fundamental recognition been made when retelling Elvis’s story, much less the broader story of rock music. Such omission is not only shameful for glossing over the contributions of a whole segment of the American individuals, but likewise for thinning down the fantastic melting pot of American music. On that note, I find it particularly admirable that the film’s soundtrack incorporates more modern-day music genres with the modern songs of the 1950s. While some might discover hip-hop too sidetracking in a story set over 60 years back, it serves the movie well by showcasing the effect Elvis had on the music industry.
With rockstar bipoics, and undoubtedly any cinematic account of genuine individuals, there is often a tug-of-war in between historic accuracy and artistic expression. Creativite liberties are vital in telling such stories with a minimal runtime, however this leaves us with the unavoidable concern: what deserves leaving in and worth leaving out? The creative group behind Elvis plainly wished to pay tribute to this legendary figure but, for the many part, bewared to do their homework beforehand. It does a great job of juxtaposing Presley’s life with the times in which he lived without discovering as too ham-fisted, although a few of his less lovely information are omitted, such as his insane unhealthy food diet and the suspicious origin of his relationship with his wife Pricilla.
Overall, Elvis is about as excellent as Hollywood can get in recreating the life of “The King”. While Bohemian Rhapsody feels more like a big budget plan karaoke night than a deep exploration of Queen’s tradition, this film is a fantastic effort at balancing hyperstyalized kitsch with a sincere human-interest story. Instead of play to merely bring in Elvis fans, the music is organically woven into a bigger story. The song “Heartbreak Hotel” handles a new significance when it is played in Las Vegas’s International Hotel, where the seeds of Presley’s failure are planted. “Are You Lonely Tonight?”, a tune about lovesickness, ends up being a self-reflective ballad of Presley’s own sense of loneliness.
Touches like these make this motion picture so special; when informing an artist’s story, it is essential to show what the music says about the musician. When telling the story of a musician as huge as Elvis Presley, it’s important not only to show what made him so beloved but why his brief presence on this earth left such an enduring impression on many people.
Source: http://themetropolitan.metrostate.edu/2022/09/metro-at-the-movies/