Yeah, but…isn’t this just a backdoor pilot for the Hank Snow biopic?
Who knows when (or if) we’ll ever get the definitive Elvis movie? I mean sure…there’s Bubba Ho-Tep, but that one might be TOO accurate.
This is easily the most joyous version, zipping from one climactic moment to the next and ignoring many ugly truths until the final stretch. It’s been over 20 years since I made the mistake of picking a front row seat to watch Moulin Rouge; a film I do enjoy but wasn’t ready for the aggressive razzmatazz that’s become de rigeur for almost every Baz Luhrmann joint.
I was smart this time around and sat in the back row, but that didn’t stop me from being swept up in his idiosyncratic, trademark kaleidoscopic vision of the King of Rock ‘n Roll’s rise and fall. For much of the runtime, Elvis’ problems feel relatively minor and everything’s coming up Milhouse for Ol’ Swivel Hips. The ugliness occurs as an afterthought near the end and oddly enough, Luhrmann’s cinematic bag of tricks don’t add up to a very moving conclusion, although the actual footage of Elvis’ final performance is affecting.
The best that can be said for this by-the-numbers biopic which only feels fresh thanks to the direction is that the two leads are wonderful. I never once questioned Austin Butler’s impressive impersonation and the same can be said for Tom Hanks, whose corpulent Colonel is very much the villain of the piece, despite his voice over protestations. Sadly, the dramatic scenes involving Olivia DeJonge’s Priscilla are devoid of spark and come off as hollow. It’s a mostly successful, involving effort that doesn’t quite stick the landing.
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