Elvis: Star spotlight or wash-up recap?
A new trend has emerged in movies over the last few years, one that continues to grow both in popularity and nuance as new directors and crews take their swing at it: the musician biopic. As of 2018, the two major examples were Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman focusing on the band Queen and Elton John, respectively. Later this year, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story will release, but before that popular director Baz Lurhman of The Great Gatsby (2013) fame has thrown his hat into the ring with Elvis, starring the titular yet controversial rock ‘n’ roll superstar of the mid-20th century.
As a fan of Bohemian Rhapsody and, to a lesser extent, Rocketman, I was cautiously excited to see this film in June of this year. While I have no personal love for Elvis’s music, I grew up in a family that was always talking about him. On the other hand, the controversy surrounding Elvis’s appropriation of Black music left me conflicted on how to approach this film. So, what’s the verdict?
Elvis stars Austin Butler as the titular role, chronicling Elvis Presley’s life starting in rural Memphis in 1935 and ending with his death in 1977. The film boasts a two-and-a-half-hour runtime, and one of the benefits of its length is its ability to take its time with each era of the star. The first scene that really exemplified this was Elvis’s debut show singing “Baby, Let’s Play House,” which perfectly demonstrates just how absurd Elvis and his performances were. Performing at a small country music show, Elvis blows the roof off of the venue by doing his signature “wiggle,” as the movie calls it, something that would very shortly become one of Elvis’s defining traits.
This scene also introduces the viewer to Austin Butler’s performance, as the movie includes a mix of covers by Butler and the original songs sung by Presley himself. Comparing this to the other major biopics in the last few years, Bohemian Rhapsody portrayed an all-lip synced performance by Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury; Rocketman was the exact opposite with an all-cover performance by Taron Egerton. Elvis splits the difference, and this seems to be for the best. Butler has an almost hauntingly good impression of Presley, but his voice, along with some remixes, gives songs like “Baby, Let’s Play House,” which would originally be a bit too old-fashioned for most modern audiences, a whole new life.
The first half of the movie tackles this incredibly complex space that Elvis’s music and legacy continue to grapple with: did he or did he not steal Black music? Well, the movie doesn’t seem to really take a stance on that exact question, but it does deal with it in other ways. Kelvin Harrison Jr., for example, plays BB King, one of Elvis’s closest confidants in the beginning of his career. It’s through the character of BB King that we get what seems to be the line that most directly responds to this controversy: when Elvis expresses worry that he will be put in jail for performing his “wiggle,” BB King responds, “They’re not gonna put you in jail. They might put me in jail for walking across the street, but you’re a famous white boy. Too many people are making too much money off of you to put you in jail.”
This quote does ring true; Elvis was a vessel through which Black culture, musicians, and genres integrated into mainstream music. Whether you personally believe that makes it right or not is something for you to decide, but this is the stance the movie takes and one that I can personally respect.
I do, however, feel as though the movie could have done more; for example, BB King does not show up again after this point in the film. Elvis goes into the military and the second half of the film begins by pretty much leaving that aspect alone. There is the song, “If I Can Dream,” which was directly inspired by MLK Jr. and was performed as a response to his death in the movie, which brings this conflict back in, but it’s only momentary.
The second half of the movie, while still quite jaw-dropping in my opinion, doesn’t quite hold up to the first half for this reason and some others. The film ultimately deals with Elvis’s addiction to dozens of drugs as a way to cope with his insomnia and divorce. The movie ends on a melancholy note as Elvis says, “I’m all out of dreams.” A final montage and performance of “Unchained Melody” showcases incredible delivery from Elvis, and right before the credits roll the movie reminds us that Elvis is the number-one highest selling solo musician of all time.
Elvis casts an optimistic light on Elvis Presley’s life, for better or worse. For fans of other biopics like Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman, I’d definitely recommend watching the film to see just how influential Elvis was both in life and death.