The life of Elvis

MYNRA BROWN, HOST: Today is Friday, June 24th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Myrna Brown.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Coming next on The World and Everything in It: Elvis.

This weekend marks the 45th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s last concert, and it also marks the theatrical debut of a new biopic about his life and the manager who pushed him.

Arts and media editor Collin Garbarino now with his review of Elvis.

MUSIC: [Well, you can do anything but stay offa my blue suede shoes!]

COLONEL: Tomorrow all America will be talking about Elvis Presley.

COLLIN GARBARINO: Elvis covers the rise and fall of the King of Rock and Roll. But the movie focuses on Elvis’ complicated relationship with his manager Colonel Tom Parker. Austin Butler plays Elvis and Tom Hanks plays the Colonel.

COLONEL: There are some who would make me out to be the villain of this here story.

The Colonel’s narration provides a framework for the movie—An elderly man seeking to justify himself and his actions.

COLONEL: Without me, there would be no Elvis Presley.

This is a story that plays out like a Greek tragedy. Elvis and the Colonel are two men who are both great in their own way. But the things that make them great—ambition, tireless pursuit of applause, dedication to one another—these are the things that bring them low in the end. The Colonel began his career as a carny, and he brings that philosophy of showmanship to managing Elvis’ career. He doesn’t want to promote a musical act. He wants to promote the greatest show on Earth.

COLONEL: I wish to promote you Mr. Presley. Are you ready to fly?

ELVIS: I’m ready. Ready to fly.

In this movie we see Elvis fly. But just like Icarus who flew too close to the sun, Elvis burns out and crashes. We get the feeling that neither the flight nor the crash would have been possible without the Colonel’s manipulation.

The movie is written and directed by Australian filmmaker Baz Luhrmann whose other films include Moulin Rouge! and The Great Gatsby. Just like Luhrmann’s other movies, Elvis is visually stunning. He brings a flamboyant aesthetic saturated with color that includes surreal elements surrounding the narrative. Lurhrmann’s exaggerated approach complements the bombast of Elvis’ music and lifestyle.

ANNOUNCER: He’s a young singer from Memphis, Tennessee. Give him a warm hayride welcome—Mr. Elvis Presley.

HECKLER: Get a haircut, buttercup.

COLONEL: In that moment, I watched that skinny boy transform into a superhero.

The movie is at its best when recounting Elvis’ rise to stardom and his attempts to figure out who he is. He’s a white man from Memphis singing black rhythm and blues and gospel music. Meanwhile, the Colonel is busy both promoting Elvis’ infamous wiggling on stage and managing the fallout it provokes.

ELVIS: [singing] If you’re looking for trouble, you came to the right place. If you’re looking for trouble, just look right in my face.

COLONEL: He had no idea what he had done.

But about halfway through the two-and-a-half-hour-long running time, Elvis’ career peaks and we see things start to fall apart. At about that point, the movie also starts to fall apart. It loses focus. It tries to become a tragic love story about Priscilla, but it glosses over too much of Elvis’ problematic courtship of the teenager to understand the relationship. It alludes to our current fractured nation by mentioning how America was hurting during the 60s. But there’s no payoff for the hand wringing. These themes detract from the tension built into Elvis’ struggle against the Colonel to be his own person.

ELVIS: I need to get back to who I really am.

Austin Butler makes for an excellent Elvis. He doesn’t give off the impersonator vibe. In early scenes he sings, looking every inch a rock star—though in later scenes Luhrmann dubs audio recordings of Elvis himself. Butler gives us a sympathetic, yet flawed, Elvis. He imbues the role with both hunger and humility. By the time Elvis is playing his shows in Las Vegas, we get the sense his song “Suspicious Minds” is about his relationship with the Colonel.

MUSIC: “Suspicious Minds”

I hate to say it, but Tom Hank’s portrayal of Colonel Tom Parker is probably the weakest aspect of this film. The fat suit and facial prosthetics distract from his performance. He still looks like Tom Hanks, not the real Colonel. It’s just enough makeup to remind you Tom Hanks is in there somewhere. And Hanks affects an inexplicable accent for the Dutch-born Tom Parker. In reality, the Colonel’s accent wasn’t pronounced, but half the time Hanks sounds German and half the time he sounds Irish.

COLONEL: We are the same, you and I. We are two odd, lonely children reaching for eternity.

Elvis is rated PG-13. The movie contains some strong language and depicts Elvis’ adultery and prescription drug abuse. The lifestyle of a rock star isn’t family friendly. But considering this subject matter, I found Luhrmann’s interpretation of Elvis’ unsavory side restrained. Still, I wouldn’t take children to see it.

Elvis gives us a picture of a man who, despite his gospel roots, doesn’t understand the gospel. Elvis is talented and loyal, and he desperately wants to be loved. But he’s afraid that he’ll never be able to work hard enough to achieve immortality. He fears in the end nothing he’s ever done will matter. It’s a beautiful, flawed, tragic movie about a beautiful, flawed, tragic human being.

I’m Collin Garbarino.

ANNOUNCER: Elvis has left the building.

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