Elvis

Thoughts inspired by a film you may have heard about

The first time I saw the above clip, everything I thought I knew about Elvis Presley vanished. I had been led to believe that he had started out brilliant in 1955, fell into mediocrity except for a few moments in the late 60s, and then completely lost all his talent before he died in 1977. I was much younger then, and I thought simple narratives like that could explain a life’s career.

This was filmed just weeks before Elvis died. He had lost not a single bit of his amazing vocal skill, the vocal range and power that enabled him to go from delicate low notes to incandescent high ones. More, he was still able to connect with a song, still able to make us feel his passionate conviction that he needs that love. He’s hungry for her touch, absolutely. No wonder Baz Lurhmann had to end his biopic with this performance. It shows us what a loss it was to have Presley come to an end.

Elvis the film is an elaborate con, told by the very unreliable narrator of Presley’s manager Colonel Tom Parker. Parker is played by Tom Hanks, smothered in whatever make-up is required to make him 150 pounds heavier, and hidden behind a Dutch accent that may be true to life but is too cutesy by half. Parker takes all credit for Presley’s successes in the film, and absolutely no blame for any problems, up to and including his procuring the infamous Dr. Nick who got Elvis hooked on the drugs which ultimately killed him.

So, we can’t take seriously the film’s contention that Elvis naturally felt connected to African-American music and people just by virtue of hearing Arthur Crudup and visiting a tent revival. Elvis did love that music, but he also loved country and western, and he idolized Dean Martin - it was that unique combination which led to his original and constantly creative vocal talent. We certainly can’t believe that Presley’s talent enabled him to create brilliant performances without working too hard at them. Nor is it likely that he was constantly pushing back against Parker’s smoothing of his rough edges. Elvis Presley wanted to have hit records, wanted to star in those movies, wanted to perform with kitsch karate moves and in bedazzled super-hero outfits.

Still, while I spent time arguing with Luhrmann’s mythology, Elvis the film really does manage to make his music ring again. It may have messed up some of the Sun cuts by slowing them down or adding weird noises, but by the time of the famous TV comeback special, every time Austin Butler opened his mouth to sing, it was Elvis magic coming out. And, man, he had to put in some work copying so many of the stage moves we’ve seen over and over again all our lives. He became the greatest Elvis impersonator I’ve ever seen.

I’ve noticed since the film came out that Elvis Presley records have been flying off the shelves at the record store, probably at triple the rate they were moving before. These records are not uniformly great, but there is enough brilliance in his catalog to deserve a film that puts his music front and center over and above any specious mythos being conjured up. Elvis the film achieves that, which makes it a useful entertainment.