Colonel Tom Parker (played by Tom Hanks), discovers a diamond in the rough: Elvis Presley (played by Austin Butler) who will become a star from whom he will also benefit financially at the expense of his talent.
Elvis Presley was born in 1935 in the southeastern United States, in a society immersed in the Great Depression and racial segregation as the family lived in the state of Mississippi. Elvis was born 35 minutes after his dead twin brother, in a humble house built by his own father, Vernon (Richard Roxburgh), who had a complicated relationship with money. Gladys (Helen Thomson) his mother took excessive care of her son Elvis and created a codependent bond with him.
Given their precarious situation, the Presleys had to move to an essentially black neighborhood, where Elvis was influenced by the African-American culture (where music was heard in churches, bars and on the street), which is important to understand the social importance of his music. Elvis ended the typical country music that defined white music of the time by presenting a hybrid of blues and hillbilly, singing and swaggering like a black man.
The rebelliousness of Elvis, who was prosecuted for public disorder and even investigated for indecency, is explained with humor. All this because the young girls were fainting and screaming orgasmically. The press defamed him for frequenting venues where people like B.B. King or Little Richard played.
The film narrates the entire life of Elvis Presley, from his discovery to his untimely death, showing us part of his personal life and the importance of two women: his mother and his wife. We observe the effect that the death of his mother Gladys (Helen Thomson) had on him and the beginning of his relationship with Priscilla Presley (Olivia DeJonge), with Tom Parker as narrator, an undesirable, cynical and opportunistic character.
We will witness the persecution suffered by the artist by conservative groups because of the provocative movements in his shows, also reflects his triumphant return in the televised Christmas special of 1968 and his time in Las Vegas, we witness the discovery, rise, debacle and redemption of the idol.
The film answers several unknowns, such as: where did Elvis' singing, dancing and guitar playing style come from, being a white boy who should sing and play country music and not African-American.
Luhrmann does not delve too deeply into the more difficult to defend aspects of the character such as Presley's relationship with money, alcohol, women and drugs. The director focuses on the image of the dissatisfied loner.
Austin Butler shines in playing one of the most famous musical icons of all time, this actor has an impressive energy as Elvis Presley offered in his shows, and even performs with his voice some songs, for something he won the role to Harry Styles and Miles Teller.
Tom Hanks, as always, shows an impeccable characterization of a deplorable agent of the rock star.
Baz Luhrmann makes a very personal, spectacular and musical staging, where the story progresses through musical sequences, with a very clever script where independent events become part of a story and musical montage sequences with a fairly fluid pace.
The film also shines in its production design, editing and sound, although many have criticized its long duration of two hours and thirty-nine minutes, I must say in its favor that the film is entertaining, and at least I did not find it so long.
This film is more restrained when compared to Moulin Rouge, however, the language of the film is like that of a music video.
Everything said here I hope is a preamble for you to see and enjoy for yourselves this entertaining movie, its music, the explosive performance of Austin Butler as Elvis, who manages to make the character his own, and the impeccable performance of Tom Hanks as the manipulative Colonel Parker. In addition, despite its detractors, we will witness the unmistakable style of a film worthy of its director Baz Luhrmann.
Here is a performance of an Italian band called Manesquin that interprets a song by Elvis Presley called If I Can Dream and that has been used to promote the movie as part of its Soundtrack.
