Elvis [2022]
“There's a lot of people saying a lot of things, but in the end you gotta listen to yourself.”
More a love letter than a documentary, Elvis is going to be both highly adored [and highly awarded] for its flair, vision, style, and technical prowess. If you love Elvis, I can’t say if this will be for you or not. However, if you love Baz Luhrmann, this might as well already be in your top 10.
I don’t know much about Elvis outside of this film, so I can’t speak to the factual discourse outlined therein, but the internet seems to agree it’s “close”. What I do know, is that Baz’s vision and knack for making editorial masterpieces is still unrivaled. While he isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, for a character as flamboyant as Elvis Presley, it’s a match made in Vegas… except less fleeting than what that typically connotes.
From the cinematography and coloring of the film that lend it a signature look best viewed on the biggest HDR screen you can find, to the superbly creative editing that is oft forgone by more classically constructed films in fear of kickback, Elvis is a technical achievement that will take home several Oscars, if not just several nominations.
There hasn’t been a film produced like this since 2001’s Moulin Rouge, but Mr. Luhrmann and his technical crew are not the only ones to be commended here.
Tom Hanks absolutely slays his role as a sleazy, slimy, and all-together-disgusting snake of a manager. Making an audience hate Tom Hanks isn’t an easy thing to do, and yet…
Austin Butler will absolutely be nominated for his role as Elvis. Coming from a background mostly consisting of single episodes of various television series, the performance delivered here is stunning.
While everyone in the film does a remarkable job, the movie could have been a two-man show between Hanks and Butler, and the experience would still stand up.
I was skeptical going into this because the fandom around Elvis as a person is so rabid; it felt like making a movie about The King was almost low hanging fruit. However, just because something is easy to access and enjoy, doesn’t mean it can’t be performed and made with an adeptness not often seen in modern film. While I don’t think Elvis is going to hit newcomer’s heartstrings the way Moulin Rouge does; for fans of the man, the story is beautifully depicted and I’m sure the weight is there – the final scenes being delivered so that even those only just meeting him may be moved.
This is an easy entry for Best Editing, Director, Cinematography, Sound, Actor in a Leading/ Supporting Role, and will probably even get a Best Picture nod from the big Golden-O. But, none of those are reasons you should see this. You should take the time to go see Elvis on the biggest, loudest screen you can, because it truly embodies the creative genius that makes cinema great. Even if it’s not your favorite film in the end, the vision and love that went into the creation of this experience is what mainstream movies seem to have lost.
Elvis is not only a love letter to the man, but to the art of film itself.
"When things are too dangerous to say, sing."
