Did you know that the word #Biopic is derived from #biography and #pictures? And when #BazLuhrman attempts one, I guess it is all visuals, drama and larger than life imagery. And that’s exactly what you get when you watch #Elvis, now playing in the theatre next to you. With a run time of nearly three hours, it's a marathon spectacle at the end of which you may not really walk away knowing anything more about the man who was king of rock & roll; what you will definitely get is an extravagant super-montage style delirious production that will dazzle you with flashes of colour, lighting, sets and costumes, told almost in a furious Tik-Tok like pace!
#Elvis has four big aspects going for it. One is #AustinButler playing #ElvisPresley. He gets it spot on with his bravado, stage presence and imitation of the gel slicked hair, pink lips and the jumpsuits that make the pelvic thrusts look incredibly sexy. The movie shows how little Elvis is attracted to the gospel and blues music of the times. He keeps the company of legendary balck musicians of the time #BigMamaThornton (#ShonkaDukureh), #BBKing (#KelvinHarrisonJr) and #LitteRichard (#AlterMason). He courts controversy over the fact that he champions black music. #Presley himself is at his charismatic best and disregards the media buzz. He is devastated by the assassinations of #MartinLutherKingJr and #RobertFKennedy.
I pause here for a minute to salute that wonderful actor #ShonkaDukureh as the news of her sudden demise pours in even as I am writing this review out.
#AustinButler portrays the king as a musician who YOU want to listen to ! He's like the modern Orpheus, whose songs are considered forbidden and what his manager thinks teenage girls shouldnt enjoy!
And talking about the manager, what's interesting is that #Luhramn choses to anchor this narrative from the point of view of #Presley’s long time manager #ColonelTomParker ( a prosthetic and paunch heavy #TomHanks with a sing-song voice who claims that he had nothing to do with the legend’s demise while the entire film portrays exactly the opposite view!). If it was any other film, you would perhaps commend #TomHanks on a fantastic portrayal but here it is almost as if his eyes are popping out at you through the prosthetic face to say “Hey…it’s me”. He works his way into the #Presely family and forms an alliance with #Presley’s mother (#helenThomson) and father (#RichardRoxburgh).
#BazLuhramn eschews all subtlety in his portrayal of the life and times of #Presley. He recreates the Americas of the 50s and 60s . #Presley grew up in Mississippi and Tennessee and hot the mainstream circuit. His rise is stratospheric as people take a fancy to him and his famous baritone like never. His romance and marriage with #Priscilla (#OliviaDeJonge) and his fatherhood are visuals that fly past at a frenetic pace. As he topples the then favourite on music scene, #HankSnow (#DavidWenham) and climbs to super-stardom, it is yet again the story of loss of innocence.
#Elvis is the quintessential American tale of race, sex, religion and money. The three hours covers a lot of ground but does not have enough time to dwell deep on the characters ; the cuts are too frequent and the feverish pace gets to you after a while. Production design by #CatherineMartin and #KarenMurphy is carnival style with red and black motifs that are semi-erotic, vegas style bling and an almost forbidden-pleasure themed glitz that leaves you buzzed. #Luhrman’s style is a mix of #MoulinRouge and #BohemianRhapsody and you do walk away with the feeling that he could well have done more to cull out the ‘man’ from the ‘icon’ !
留言