Film - Elvis

I saw this during Glastonbury weekend so when the rest of the country was marvelling at Paul McCartney, I recalled being bought up on Elvis rather than the Beatles. After all, there would be no Beatles without Elvis.

And yes there would be no Elvis without gospel music. And there would be no rock n roll without gospel music. This is Memphis after all. 

Although this is a biopic in that it races through the boy Elvis Aaron Presley and the superstar Elvis Presley, it mainly centres on the final tragic years of Elvis, no surname needed. The film falls back on being unnecessarily graphic here. Still, it’s a devastating watch and I wondered how his family would feel about it. As it turns out, his daughter’s love for it flashes up among the reviews on the trailer. From the trailer, featuring Colonel Tom Parker narrating about meeting Elvis, I thought this story may give a different perspective to the one I’ve lived with my whole life. However, the subsequent promoting/mentoring/manipulation of ‘EP’ is pretty much how I knew it. No doubt Elvis would have broken through, but would he have been the megastar influence that he became without this guidance?

It is interesting to see how a person that most would look back to see as clean-cut as Cliff Richard at that time was thought of as satan himself just because of the way he ‘shook’ and ‘wriggled’. He appeared to have the full blessing of his adored mum who assured him his moves were ‘god-given’.

The camera’s fixation with his groin seemed wildly overstated and irritating but this is a film by Baz Luhrmann. The screaming girls are probably no exaggeration. It is so different 60 years on but back then, with no sex education, no Cosmo and no internet, young people would have had no idea what these hormones were and how and why they were affecting them.

Both Parker and Presley had their addictions and we looked well into this darkness that engulfed them.

I knew much of the story but the opening scenes of him living in a black neighbourhood and being mesmerised by gospel singing in churches sets the scene well. I really love the gospel-esque side of Elvis and this film lovingly pays homage to the black singers that Elvis admired, respected and was influenced by from BB King to Little Richard and also to Rosetta Tharpe who I didn’t know.

My first ever LP was an Elvis best-off. double album This is before I worked out my own musical taste. When asked what I’d liked, I thought my own record collection should start with the man that was known as the king. I loved the gospel numbers most, such as When the Saints Go Marching In which taught me about harmonies, as did the Beach Boys later.

In 2004, I stood at the spot where Elvis first sang for Sam Phillips at Sun Studios, went past the apartment block he was born and of course paid a trip to Graceland. The grand home was much smaller than I expected and it guess it was huge compared to the apartment he grew up in. TBC (taking care of business) was on the number plates on the Cadillacs outside and I use this phrase on my website today.

Elvis the film is full of sequins, hamburgers and Cadillacs. He would have liked it.

8½/10