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Finally-- Tom Hanks, the Villain
posted by northcoastSTAFFMOD on June 25, 2022 at 7:02 PM
Been waiting a long time to see Mr. Hanks as a villain. As Elvis Presley's agent-- "Colonel" Tom Parker-- in this film, he always makes sure he gets a fat cut out of Mr. Presley's earnings, and steers him into various projects that will make money, but often are not what the singer wants. Hanks plays the part well.
As for the film itself, it is basically just an episodic string of vignettes from the singer's early days all the way till his final years trapped in a Las Vegas contract, with Elvis' dreams of going on a world tour dashed. According to the film-- outside of his brief stint in the Army --he never left the United States (I also know that he did some work in Canada, although it is not shown in the film). The camera work throughout the film is very fast and shaky, such that I think it could make some viewers dizzy. I really didn't care for the director's (Baz Luhrmann) style. A steady hand would've done wonders.
Now, personally, I've never been a fan of Elvis, but I do respect his role in the mainstreaming of modern rock and roll culture.
But I just didn't care for this film (other than Hanks' decent performance) and would not give it a re-watch. But I would be curious to know if Elvis fans feel differently.
Reply by Picard60
on October 10, 2022 at 5:02 PM
Tom Hanks even makes the colonel Parker too sympathetic and kind for this type of person ! As usual he is good.
Reply by Steve
on January 18, 2023 at 1:16 PM
As a Elvis fan I loved the film. Focused on the myth and tall tales around Elvis instead of trying to figure him out. And it worked. The movie is about his appeal and stage presence. Strangely they gloss over his early music and instead focused on his exploits and not on what he recorded. They explored his androgynous look more than previous bios of him but it make me realize his connections to rock stars to come. They mixed real Elvis with the actor and at times I had to stop and decide what I was looking at. Especially the sick Elvis at the end singing at the piano when he couldn't stand I honestly don't know which man I was watching. They made it damned clear where the music came from and I admired that they could say that but still say even with that he was still pretty amazing. Yola is one of my favorite singers and it was cool to see her in this too. I enjoyed Hanks in this.