Elvis

Tracking rock 'n' roll icon Elvis Presley’s rise to fame, to his unprecedented superstardom, over the course of 20 years, Elvis is a bolt of lightning rehash of the multiple eras and the highs and lows of the life of the legend himself, as well as his complicated relationship with Colonel Tom Parker, his enigmatic manager, and the one person who was most influential in his life, the one who was most central to his happiness -- Priscilla.

But in the end, Elvis is all about Elvis.

Elvis is told from the fever dream point of view of the bed-ridden, end-of-his-days, twisted old troll of a carny huckster, the singer’s long time manager, Colonel Tom Parker. Before his own soon-to-fall curtain call, the old vampire is desperate to set the record straight as he sees it, so as a result, the film feels very much as it should, just a beguiling tall tale spun by a sideshow barker on the carnival midway, full of glitz and glamour, all golden and glittering, with bright flashes, big noises, and no end to the quick and clever little tricks to lure you in.

Baz Luhrmann is no stranger to the glitz and glamour, of course, and he brings both barrels here with his trademark frenetic and kinetic camera work. Tom Hanks is the big noise, playing Parker as a larger than life figure in both over-the-top appearance and accent. Austin Butler, meanwhile, is the trick, practically inhabiting the pop icon to such an extent that even in interviews he’s doing now, it’s almost like he can’t shake the character, the ghost of Elvis still clinging to him like smoke.

This is a big and brash film in all the ways you’d expect, both because it’s a Baz Luhrmann film, and also from being an Elvis biopic. It’s bombastic, melodramatic, and dazzling, zipping through the singer’s long and tumultuous career on a whirlwind tour. If you’re looking for an in-depth examination of Elvis, of his life, his history, his music, and his legacy, then you should probably look elsewhere.

This is Elvis the myth.

This is Elvis as the Paul Bunyan of RocknRoll Gods, a modern day celebrity Icarus, told with all the subtlety of a Soap Opera. But this isn’t just a film about a myth, it’s a film about all myths, about the forging of myths and the creation of legends. It’s about how, in the end, those myths and legends are all just stories, the heroes all hobbled by feet of clay, and as such, fated die to tragically, to be sacrificed to eternity, because a legend can’t survive and remain legends. We can’t see them, and still be myths. Age only tarnishes their shine. They have to go away in order to be a legend, and they have to go away in a notable way, because all stories need endings.

And like all stories, the people telling them all have an agenda too, so here in this film, you only see the big moments, you only see the good moments, and they are really big and really good moments, but you only get bare nods towards the bad stuff, and only for dramatic purposes, but that’s because true legends can only shine.

So, in Elvis, his truth goes marching on.

Hail to the King, baby.