Film Review: ELVIS (2022): Baz Luhrmann Brings a Legend Back to Life in a Terrific, Moving Film

Elvis Review

Elvis (2022) Film Review, a movie directed by Baz Luhrmann, written by Baz Luhrmann, Sam Bromell and Craig Pearce and starring Tom Hanks, Austin Butler, Oliva 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 and Alton Mason.

Baz Luhrmann is a master craftsman whose films never cease to amaze even when they don’t quite live up to expectations (see: Australia). If people ever doubted that the filmmaker could top his energetic, fast paced first fifteen minutes of Moulin Rouge!, those folks are in for a huge surprise because Luhrmann does it with the opening minutes of the fantastic new film, Elvis. Watching Elvis‘ opening scenes is like being dunked into a huge swimming pool as information is given to the viewer against the backdrop of Las Vegas where the late legendary musical “King” frequently performed. Audiences will be immersed in the action immediately. We’re instantly hooked. This film never once takes a false step and is absolutely exhilarating to behold in all its magnificent glory. This is film-making at its best.

In the opening frames of the movie, we meet the man who managed Elvis Presley’s career: Col. Tom Parker (Tom Hanks wearing makeup and sporting a large nose–he’s almost completely unrecognizable as the man we once loved in dramas and romantic comedies back in the 1990’s). Parker is in trouble and the Las Vegas setting has taken the best of him as he has turned into a degenerate compulsive gambler who seems to owe one particular casino quite a bit of money. We also meet Elvis (Chaydon Jay) as a young man who becomes a truck driver before turning into the musical sensation he became. As a kid, Elvis had some personal realizations as to what his calling in life was which the movie vividly portrays.

Austin Butler plays Elvis for the remainder of the movie once he grows up and it’s a performance for the record books. Butler has captured the mannerisms and charming good looks of the King beyond a reasonable doubt. There’s not a scene where I didn’t believe this was the real Elvis Presley. When there is footage of the actual superstar at the end of the movie where the King performs “Unchained Melody,” it becomes a realization for the audience as to just how right Butler’s performance in the movie is. Butler nails this role.

Lurhmann’s signature style is on display all throughout the movie from his use of combining old music with contemporary music (a la his The Great Gatsby remake) to his breathtaking pacing which is due to a combination of fiercely effective editing and on point cinematography. The characters here are all extraordinarily written. In the film (and also as we’re told at the end, in reality) Parker hoodwinked Elvis into thinking he was a close friend when, in fact, Parker essentially milked the legendary performer for all his passion and talents while reaping the glorious financial benefits which Parker later squandered.

Elvis fell in love with Priscilla (Olivia DeJonge), a beautiful woman who met Elvis after he was drafted. Priscilla loved Elvis and put up with his public displays of affection for his female fans through the tenure of the maximum height of his success. Elvis and Priscilla had a daughter together, Lisa Marie. DeJonge and Butler have some remarkable on-screen chemistry and their performances keep the movie deeply relatable. Towards the end, a scene by a plane where the two interact is absolutely perfect and demonstrated the emotions these two people felt and this sequence conveyed their obvious love for one another.

Helen Thomson and Richard Roxburgh shine as well in the film as Elvis’ parents. Thomson’s Gladys doesn’t want everything Elvis wants to give her in terms of riches and we feel for Gladys because she wanted what was best for her son and she could see through all the facades that are right in front of Elvis’ eyes. The problem was that Elvis was so in love with his music that he barely understood the way his mom was trying to protect him. As Elvis’ father Vernon, Roxburgh ably plays a man who was once imprisoned and now has come to live off the success of his son. When Parker desperately needs Elvis to perform one night at an event, Vernon is torn between the success he has come to know and the love he has for his son. Unfortunately, Parker wickedly persuades Vernon to keep Elvis working for their own profit, not for Elvis’ well-being.

Kelvin Harrison Jr. plays a great B.B. King and the movie documents that fine musical talent as well as Little Richard (Alton Mason)’s. This movie takes us through the deaths of Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy. It covers the time period from about the mid 1950’s through Elvis’ own death in the late 1970’s. The movie more than respectably shows the audience Memphis, and presents Elvis’ love of R&B in such a way that we understand how it motivated the performer to come up with his own style of movement and music which made him the legend he was.

Butler gets Elvis so right, it’s almost scary how great a performance it is. I don’t believe the King realized how important time (and his family) was to his happiness during the duration of his life. Elvis never seemed to grasp the power of the love of his wife and child until it was too late. Instead, Elvis held on to his career while Parker saw to it that Elvis never truly performed outside of the country for reasons you’ll see during the course of the film. Elvis performed overseas via satellite but Parker’s own personal character flaws robbed the great artist of his chance to see the world. DeJonge is believable and effective as the lover who Elvis embraced but lost sight of in his later years.

Tom Hanks hasn’t been this good in years. He is so authentically phony that audiences can see right through him but, at the same time, understand why Elvis remained loyal to him throughout the years. It’s a fine turn by Hanks that will hopefully be remembered come Oscar nomination time.

Baz Luhrmann has created the quintessential movie about Elvis Presley. It’s a perfect masterpiece. Between the brilliant music and the defining scenes of the great musical artist’s personal life, we never feel overwhelmed by the movie except in the opening minutes. Luhrmann makes it all accessible to any viewer. By film’s end, the audience will have respected Elvis Presley, the man behind the groundbreaking music. Whether or not Elvis loved himself and his family as much as he should have, the movie is still deeply moving. It also showcases music during the end credits (including a song featuring Eminem) so stay put at the end while the names roll. This movie is not to be missed.

Rating: 10/10

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