Austin Butler as Elvis and Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker. Photograph: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures / Click to view the trailer
Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis is a well-rounded biopic that offers a multidimensional view into the life of one of the most important performers of our time.
Luhrmann, who was also one of the writers for the screenplay, creates a balance between the wild side of the “King” and his insecurities and love of black music from blues to R&b, and from gospel to rock.
It becomes clear that Elvis Presley, played inventively and intensively by Austin Butler, was a rebel of his time, and the film suggests that he could have become even more unless Colonel Tom Parker, his diabolic manager, played strikingly by Tom Hanks, had consistently sunk his claws into Elvis’ pelvis.
Other notable characters include Olivia DeJonge as Priscilla Presley, Chaydon Jay as the young Elvis, Helen Thomson as Elvis’ mother, Gladys, and Richard Roxburgh as Elvis’ father, Vernon. Stunning cinematography by Mandy Walker. Running time: 159 minutes. Elvis premieres in Finland on June 29.
