As a Design for Film and Television course, we went on a cinema trip to Broadway Cinema to watch the film Elvis. The movie starts by introducing our protagonist, Colonel Tom Parker, on his deathbed reminiscing about the life he lived as Elvis Presley’s promoter while trying to debunk allegations that he was responsible for “killing” the King of Rock and Roll.
We get glimpses of Elvis's future life before Luhrmann reveals his Elvis to the world. Because the story is told from Parker’s point of view, we meet Elvis at the same time Parker meets him. As a result, we become equally captured by Elvis’ singing and thrusting movements. Presenting the film in this way is unusual as although it is about Elvis' life, it is told prom Parker's perspective. I really enjoyed seeing the film from this point of view as I feel we saw another side of Elvis however, it could be considered that the film takes a bias approach when only look at Elvis from one viewpoint.
Luhrmann painting Elvis’ pelvic thrust as a serious moment in his career was so ridiculous it could be considered to derail the entire film, but the sequence in which Butler’s Elvis makes female audience members squeal uncontrollably is the perfect reaction to how Butler portrays Elvis Presley throughout the film.
Overall, I would recommend this film to other fans and non-fans of Elvis as although it follows his life story, it is also filmed from a thematic and artistic view from the director. It is definitely a must see film for all ages.
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