REVIEW: ELVIS

I think most of us wish we were so good at what we did that we could simply walk away for nearly a decade and come back better than before. So it is with Baz Lurhmann who, despite not directing a feature film since 2013, returns to the game with one of his best works yet.

Elvis traces out the life of The King of Rock and Roll as seen through the eyes of his sleazy manager, Colonel Tom Parker. What follows is a familiar story of fame and fortune told in giant neon letters. Even if Lurhmann is more subdued here than he is in his magnum opus, Moulin Rouge!, he still finds room to tell the story in capital letters, and the movie is better for it.

The film paints a picture of a star who not only wrote great music, but whose music was so infectious and whose stage presence so overwhelming that experiencing it live sends one into an uncontrolled frenzy. Indeed, the moments when Elvis casts his spell over the audience are played like demonic possessions, which only makes it more exciting. It recalls a nostalgia for a time when we felt pop culture--really felt what we were experiencing--instead of merely obsessed over it.

A lot of what you think of as Elvis' stage persona is, in this movie's universe, actually a part of his natural temperament. The steely gaze, the throaty cadence, Elvis carries all that with him even when he's not on stage. And Austin Butler makes it work. His signature affect stops feeling like a part of his performance and just becomes an organic thread in the fabric of Elvis Aaron Presley.

Thanks to Lurhmann, Elvis hasn't felt so alive in nearly fifty years. We're all grateful for his contribution. (Admittedly, I do wonder if we needed this many pelvic shots ...)

--The Professor

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