‘Elvis’ is Relentless
Biopics are exhausting.
It is the era of biopics. The biopics that have been released in the last few years seem to prey on the nostalgia factor of older audiences, drawing them out from their homes to the movie theaters to support the iconic figure of their times. Whether it’s been Bohemian Rhapsody or Rocketman, there is certainly an audience for these films. And I am not in this target audience.
Still, biopics have been frequent hits in the Academy Awards race, commonly in the Best Actor or Best Actress categories. Thus, it seemed like a sound idea to watch Elvis while it was available on HBO Max. I was not excited to watch this film. This felt like a 2+ hour time investment today that would mean 2+ hours gained in the future months when the Academy Awards race was in full swing, and I could confidently say I’ve seen one of the major contenders for some of the Oscars race categories.
Can you ever go wrong with a seemingly sound investment in buying time for your hypothetical future state?
Elvis is a biopic that tackles the life and legacy of none other than Elvis Presley (Austin Butler). The film is about as complex as the simple title of the film suggests. This film, directed by Baz Luhrmann, relies heavily on style and pizazz and does not dive deep into the nuances of who Elvis really was, what he stood for, and the inner characterization of such a complex figure.
This feels like an apt time to reveal that I am personally not an Elvis fanatic and that all of my opinions for the rest of this review must be taken with a grain of salt, given this fact. Perhaps this film would have worked effectively and resonated deeply with an Elvis fan who was absolutely captivated by seeing this personality brought to life on the big screen. I certainly pondered this possibility as this 2-hour-and-39-minute behemoth unfolded. Was this captivating to those that absolutely adored Elvis as a musician, a personality, and an iconic figure?
Unfortunately, this film felt thin and didn’t work for me. In a lot of ways, Elvis seemed to lean heavily into style over substance, conveying this perspective of a tortured artist that felt archetypal instead of bringing this real-life human being to life on the big screen. Let’s unpack two interesting themes that I believe this film touched on but could have dove into deeper to tease apart even further.
Note: spoilers for Elvis ahead.
Music as a Political Stance
One of the most captivating themes of the film is Elvis’ vehement stance on his dedication to the music that he loved, even when it created divisions amongst the American public. The movie depicts how much of Elvis’ musical influences were from the African American communities, with vocal powerhouses and musical innovation that captivated him.
Some of the most interesting moments in the film were when Elvis was caught between his conviction to stay true to himself and his musical sensibilities, or give in to the cookie-cutter image that the industry moguls pressured him to be molded into. Would he forge forward with his convictions, even at the cost of causing political division or public backlash from conservative parties, or would he play it safe?
The film only touches briefly on these difficult choices that Elvis faced in his career. It would have been fascinating to explore the way Elvis weighed these diverging paths in front of him and what that revealed about his character.
The Superhero Obsession
One of the first things we learn in the film is Elvis’ obsession with Captain Marvel. This thread is carried throughout the film, where he or other people around him reference Captain Marvel as a figure whom he aspires to be like. It would have been fascinating for this film to tease apart this detail more fully, weaving it in and out of many sequences in this movie to reveal how much Elvis desired to leave a lasting legacy, becoming immortal and larger-than-life in the ways that superheroes are revered by us.
In Elvis, the last scene that occurs before Elvis passes is a conversation between him and Priscilla (Olivia DeJonge), where he expresses that his greatest fear is to be forgotten. He fears that no one will remember him after he is gone. It would have been fascinating for Elvis to explore the parallels between superheroes and iconic artists, the places they hold in our hearts and our society’s psyche, and the desire to be immortalized in the minds of the masses.
Overall, Elvis felt like a frenzied sprint to the finish line, whizzing through the life of this iconic figure at breakneck speed and surrounded by an overwhelming amount of sensory stimulation. While the film may have covered a lot of ground by including many of the iconic performances or pivotal events in Elvis’ life, this film could have slowed down a bit to really flesh out some of these fascinating and meaningful themes that arise from diving into the life of this major figure in the music industry. Instead, we get a highly stylized, overstimulating experience that left me absolutely breathless.
Looking for more movie reviews? Check out The Strategic Whimsy Experiment wherever you get your podcasts!
