Elvis is a Unique Biopic Come a Decade Too Late

The past couple years have brought us musician biopics for some of the biggest names in rock and roll history. There was Rocket Man, Bohemian Rhapsody, and now the simply titled Elvis. The king of rock and roll’s new movie draws inspiration from the much older music biopic, Oliver Stone’s The Doors. Like The Doors, Elvis blends music and visual effects to create a more surrealistic l feel. The film is certainly unique, and memorable experience but it may not have been the best approach for a musical icon that died before most of us were born.

Everyone knows who Elvis is but probably don’t know his story, his musical inspirations, his cultural significance, or the details of his personal struggles. The movie is therefore forced to add in a lot of information via narration and newspaper headlines fading in and out of frame. Had the movie been made earlier, it could’ve relied a little more on the audience’s prior knowledge of the legendary musician.

Despite a mid 20th century setting, the movie has the look and feel of a 21st century piece with plenty of visual effects, camera shots from a drone perspective, and infusion of modern hip-hop into the soundtrack. The remixing of rock and blues classics with modern hip-hop was particularly jarring. If the director was trying to make some subtle connection between Elvis and modern music, it didn’t quite succeed.

Another striking element of the movie was its hyper-pacing. The first third to half of the movie felt like a music video, with extremely short 5-10 second scenes, minimalist dialogue and frequent time jumps. This is a great approach for 3 to 4 minute music videos but frustrating for a two and a half hour film. Every time a scene built up tension the movie would jump to the next, then the next, then have a cutaway for some extra narration by Tom Hanks with a Dutch/German accent.

The second half of the movie slowed its pacing somewhat, with slightly longer scenes. For someone unfamiliar with Elvis’s career, this contained some of the most compelling moments. Austin Butler is excellent from beginning to end, often dominating the screen and going toe-to-toe with Tom Hanks. Colonel Tom Parker’s predatory managerial style was played beautifully by Tom Hanks. It is hard to hate Tom Hanks but he was truly vile.

While the first half had its issues, it also examined an interesting conflict in his early career. Elvis’s musical influences is worth a full examination, perhaps a full movie by itself. Elvis was exposed to “black music” including the early foundations of rock, as well as blues, jazz and gospel. The collision of musical and racial influences, the back lash from some in the audience as well as authorities was all fascinating.

Elvis, like the pop stars that would come after him, built up a persona. It was an image millions gladly paid to see and hear. That persona allowed the audience to dissociate Elvis the entertainer from Elvis the man. Among the crew, other managers, and even his own family, they saw him as just a money-making machine. As he gradually declined into substance abuse, adultery, and weight gain, it is heavily hinted that no one intervened, except for his wife Priscilla.

The movie depicts Elvis in a highly sympathetic light, as a man overwhelmed by fame and too naive to realize he was being exploited. Historically, this may not be accurate. Screenwriter Baz Luhrmann intentionally downplays or outright ignores Elvis’s darker side, something you may want to read about.

Music biopics tend to go two ways: either the musician hits rock bottom then goes clean and experiences a personal renaissance, or dies young. It is either the Elton John path, or the Jim Morrison path.

Elvis is obviously in the latter group. Despite unfathomable fame, his life was indeed a tragedy. A tragedy that, at least according to the movie, may have been put in motion by his manager.

The movie, in an indirect way, makes the audience wonder if his fans bore some responsibility for his pain and ultimate death as well. Certainly the man, Elvis Aaron Presley, is responsible for his own actions. He was not a naive young musician for all those years. The movie itself portrays his growth and maturity in the latter part of his career. Yet, so many around him took everything. The public only saw the persona or the symbol. When he faltered, tabloids and others likely mocked him the way pop stars were mocked for their own stumbles in later decades.

Since Elvis is not my era, all I can do is compare his life to a tragic example from my own era. I recall the constant abuse Britney Spears endured at the hands of the public and entertainment media. She became rich and famous before her eighteenth birthday yet was the target of so much public ridicule and mockery, such as rumors of breast implants with articles including before and after photos as proof of the enhancement. It seemed many were comfortable humiliating a girl who wasn’t old enough to drink because she possessed undeserved fame and success.

Fortunately, she did not die young. It was later revealed she was being exploited, like Elvis, and so many other celebrities her age. The Britney Spears that was a superstar before the age 21 didn’t deserve our derision when she made mistakes or behaved strangely. She needed help.

There are also the countless child actors that grew up to say and do embarrassing things, develop substance abuse issues, get arrested, or die young. These individuals also needed help but instead were treated with a lack of sympathy or compassion from the public at large. A common refrain is “he was so cute when he was younger. What happened to him? I guess all that fame and money got to the poor boy’s head.”

The fame perhaps, but we’ve learned years later the money often goes elsewhere.

In many ways, this movie has come too late, perhaps by more than a decade. Elvis died before more than half of us were born. The youngest person alive that may have seen him perform in-person would be at least 60 years old. For so many of us, he is just a classic rock persona, the original king of rock and roll, the inspiration for impersonators, and—sadly—the famous guy who died on the toilet.

If this movie had been made ten or fifteen years ago, it likely would’ve been a far greater success and touched more people. The 2022 vibe from the movie just doesn’t fully connect with the original king of rock and roll. The ADHD pacing early in the film also did a disservice to the story. Had the movie taken a more conventional biopic approach, even a documentary-style one, it may not have done much better financially but could’ve conveyed greater context for the greatest American cultural icon of the 20th century.

Overall, it is worth watching for its historical significance and some great moments with Butler and Hanks. It probably won’t blow anyone away but for those who enjoy music history it will satisfy. It’s accuracy will likely be scrutinized in the days to follow but by now we have come to accept that biopics are not documentaries. Maybe it will motivate some to go find a documentary on Elvis and get more of his story. It was and is worth telling.