ELVIS (2022)
Starring Austin Butler, Tom Hanks, Helen Thomson, Richard Roxburgh, Olivia DeJonge, Luke Bracey, Natasha Bassett, David Wenham, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Xavier Samuel, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Dacre Montgomery, Leon Ford, Kate Mulvany, Chaydon Jay, Josh McConville, Patrick Shearer, Adam Dunn, Yola Quartey, Alton Mason, Gary Clark Jr. and Anthony LaPaglia.
Screenplay by Baz Luhrmann & Sam Bromell and Baz Luhrmann & Craig Pearce and Jeremy Doner.
Directed by Baz Luhrmann.
Distributed by Warner Bros. 159 minutes. Rated PG-13.
The story of Elvis Presley always seemed to be an odd fit for the hyperactive filmmaking style of Baz Luhrmann (Romeo & Juliet, Moulin Rouge, The Great Gatsby), a concern that is only partially alleviated in this latest glitzy-but-overwrought take on the life and death of the King of Rock and Roll.
Presley is an iconic character in pop culture – 45 years after his death people still make pilgrimages to his home and his gravesite – who has been often portrayed on film, sometimes well, sometimes not. Elvis has sort of the perfect American story, a dream turned tragedy in which talent, good looks, and raw charisma led a young country boy to unparalleled heights, only to lose it all to drugs, sycophants and mental illness.
Relative unknown Austin Butler (he was previously probably best known for the short-lived series The Shannara Chronicles and The Carrie Diaries) is a revelation as Presley, capturing the man’s essence and swagger.
A little more problematic is the performance of Tom Hanks as his manager Colonel Tom Parker, buried under a ton of makeup and a rather bizarre accent. It is hard to tell how much of this off-puttingness is due to the performance, how much is due to the disguise, and how much is due to the fact that the Colonel was just a weird, inexplicable guy. Perhaps Hanks is nailing the role, but he always feels off, which is a problem because The Colonel is every bit as important – maybe even more so – to this story than Elvis is. (In fact, the film probably should have more accurately been called Elvis and the Colonel.)
A guy I know, who is more of an Elvis expert than I am, has come to the decision that Luhrmann’s quick cuts and flashy graphics are supposed to be visual cues for the story as seen through the eyes of the ill and drug-addled Parker. While I think that may be giving Luhrmann a bit more credit than he deserves, if that is really the case then maybe it does work better.
However, in the second half, when Luhrmann allows the film to actually play out with less of the gaudy cuts and cheesy gimmicks is where the film finds its footing. (Luhrmann has a tendency to front-load his flashier tendencies in his films and then eventually settles into a storytelling groove.)
The story itself is well known and shown in broad gestures, you don’t learn anything here that you wouldn’t have found in any extended article about the King, but still the Presley story is fascinating enough that it’s always worth seeing.
So while Elvis runs a bit too long (two hours and 40 minutes!) and some of the early scenes are a little vertigo-inducing, overall it is a fairly good film with a star-making lead performance.
Besides, both Priscilla and Lisa Marie Presley – Elvis’ widow and daughter – have been very vocal in their support of the film, claiming that it got Elvis more than any previous film had. And I guess they should know.
Jay S. Jacobs
Copyright ©2022 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: June 24, 2022.
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Title: Elvis
Rating: PG-13
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Cast: Austin Butler, Tom Hanks, Olivia DeJonge, Helen Thomson, Richard Roxburgh, Kelvin Harrison Jr, David Wenham, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Luke Bracey, Dacre Montgomery, Leon Ford, Gary Clark Jr, Yola, Natasha Bassett, Xavier Samuel, Adam Dunn, Alton Mason, Shonka Dukureh, David Gannon, Shannon Sanders, Charles Grounds, Josh McConville, Kate Mulvany, Gareth Davies, Chaydon Jay
Release year: 2022
Genres: music, history, drama
Blurb: Elvis Presley’s life story is told through the complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker.
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My Elvis, a flight to the Infinity Stone.
My Elvis, a flight to the Infinity Stone.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I met Austin Butler years ago when he was almost a stranger to the world, but in front of a glass of Tuscan red, I told him that he would go far; now I would say to him that one day he would reach the Infinity Stone.Baz Luhrmann, once again, brings a masterpiece to the screen, fulfilling Elvis Presley’s greatest desire: immortality.As a young Elvis (Chaydon Jay) is kidnapped and sent into…
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Juillet MMXXII
Films
Elvis (2022) de Baz Luhrmann avec Austin Butler, Chaydon Jay, Tom Hanks, Helen Thomson, Richard Roxburgh, Olivia DeJonge et Luke Bracey
Some Came Running (1958) de Vincente Minnelli avec Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Shirley MacLaine, Martha Hyer et Arthur Kennedy
Compartiment tueurs (1965) de Costa-Gavras avec Yves Montand, Jacques Perrin, Catherine Allégret, Pierre Mondy, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Simone Signoret et Charles Denner
Astérix : Le Domaine des dieux (2014) d'Alexandre Astier et Louis Clichy avec Roger Carel, Guillaume Briat, Lorànt Deutsch, Laurent Lafitte, Alexandre Astier et Alain Chabat
Les Figures de l'ombre (Hidden Figures) (2016) de Theodore Melfi avec Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe, Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst et Jim Parsons
L'Africain (1983) de Philippe de Broca avec Catherine Deneuve, Philippe Noiret, Jean-François Balmer, Jacques François et Jean Benguigui
Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) de Taika Waititi avec Chris Hemsworth, Tristan Hemsworth, Christian Bale, Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson et Taika Waititi
Au bout du conte (2013) de Agnès Jaoui avec Agnès Jaoui, Jean-Pierre Bacri, Arthur Dupont, Agathe Bonitzer, Benjamin Biolay et Nina Meurisse
Le Fantôme du Bengale (The Phantom) (1996) de Simon Wincer avec Billy Zane, Kristy Swanson, Treat Williams, James Remar, Catherine Zeta-Jones et Patrick McGoohan
Les Dalton en cavale (1983) de Morris, William Hanna, Joseph Barbera et Ray Patterson avec Jacques Thébault, Roger Carel, Pierre Trabaud, Jacques Balutin et Pierre Tornade
Tous à l'Ouest (2007) d'Olivier Jean-Marie avec Lambert Wilson, Clovis Cornillac, Alexis Tomassian, Christophe Lemoine, Bernard Alane et François Morel
Les Amants du Capricorne (Under Capricorn) (1949) d'Alfred Hitchcock avec Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten, Michael Wilding et Margaret Leighton
ARCA (2022) de Germain et Robin Aguesse avec Gilles Graveleau, Clémence Verniau, Gilles Arbona et Emmanuel Rausenberger
Astérix chez les Bretons (1986) de Pino Van Lamsweerde avec Roger Carel, Pierre Tornade, Graham Bushnell, Serge Sauvion : Jules César et Pierre Mondy
La Chatte sur un toit brûlant (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof) (1958) de Richard Brooks avec Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Burl Ives et Judith Anderson
Le Seigneur des anneaux (J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings) (1978) de Ralph Bakshi avec Michel Caccia, Jean Davy, Serge Lhorca, Bernard Dhéran et Georges Poujouly
Signé Furax (1981) de Marc Simenon avec Bernard Haller, Roger Carel, Jean-Pierre Darras, Michel Galabru, Paul Préboist, Jean Le Poulain et Michel Constantin
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29 septembre 1957, l’accident nucléaire de Maïak ou le silence atomique soviétique - 10 juillet 1976 : La catastrophe de Seveso - 11 Septembre, l'avant (1) - Le 11 septembre 2001, le jour qui a changé le monde (2) - 9/11, l'après : la guerre contre la terreur (3)
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Astérix, Tome 16 : Astérix chez les Helvètes de René Goscinny et Albert Uderzo
Lucky Luke, Tome 24 : La Fiancée de Lucky Luke de Morris et Guy Vidal
La cage aux souvenirs de Pierre Mondy
Les aventures de Tintin, Tome 8 : Le Sceptre d'Ottokar d'Hergé
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