Elvis

Music manager Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks) is looking for the next big star. When he sees a performance by the young Elvis Presley (Austin Butler) and observes his effect on the women in the audience, it is clear to the Colonel: the boy will be a star! From now on, he concentrates fully on Elvis, who makes a meteoric rise and becomes a real superstar. But at some point it becomes clear, and not just to the people around him, that Parker's influence is not doing Elvis any good. But of course the manager does not give up his golden goose so easily...

Baz Luhrman has dramaturgically staged a typical biopic with "Elvis". He illuminates the career of a legend from its beginnings to almost its tragic end. Thus, the film also has to struggle with the usual problem for biopics that it has to tick off the various stations of the King's life in a rush, without really being able to go into depth. However, the focus is on the relationship between Elvis and Tom Parker, whereby the story is told more from the Colonel's point of view. And that already gives the whole thing a special touch.

Which really sets the film apart from other biopics is Luhrman's staging. Similar to "Moulin Rouge", for example, his look at Elvis' career is often colorful, dazzling and visually very playfully realized. Also, well-known Elvis hits are presented here and there in very idiosyncratic versions. There are also scenes that are staged rather conventionally. But overall Luhrman has put his own stamp on the film. Personally, I found it a little exhausting at the beginning, but then at some point I could not escape the really fascinating production.

As a big fan of Tom Hanks, I was very happy to see the actor in a role that does not correspond to his image. Even though it's obvious that his face is hidden under a lot of make-up and latex, it doesn't change the fact that he's really excellent. The same goes for Austin Butler, who perfectly captures the King's facial expressions and gestures in many small moments. Thus, Butler manages very well to capture the very charisma that made Elvis - in addition to his voice - so special.

"Elvis" is far from being a perfect film. But Baz Luhrman manages very well to break out of the familiar patterns of similar cinematic biographies and thus give something that is at its core very conventional its own very interesting and rousing flavor. No masterpiece, but a very good look at the life and work of a legend and therefore also quite clearly: absolutely worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp