Have some Oscar nominations to catch up on, and tonightâs was Elvis, or as it should be titled, âBaz Luhrmannâs Elvis,â as he Baz Luhrmannâs all over it. The thing is, thatâs why I like it. The more Luhrmann it is, the better, and itâs very Luhrmann. I couldnât care less about the real Elvis Presley. Heâs not on my list of the top 1000 subjects of bio pics I want to see, should I ever make such a list, which is fine as Luhrmann isnât all that interested in the real Presley either. And that lack of accuracy (including not focusing on important elements of the manâs life) isnât a problem since, unlike the lying Bohemian Rhapsody which had little connection to Freddie Mercury but was presented as the truth, Elvis is presented as the ravings and twisted statements of Col Parker, who is clearly an unreliable narrator.
So, weâve got a skillfully directed (depending on what we count as the job of the director), beautifully filmed, and wonderfully acted picture. Austin Butler deservers his Best Lead Actor nomination just as Mandy Walkerâs cinematography nom is reasonable. And I wouldnât have been upset if Luhrmann got a directing nom (he did not). But it shouldnât have landed a Best Pictures nomination. OK, in a world where Maverick got one, sure, as it is vastly superior to that, but setting a more reasonable bar, itâs just not great. Good, but not great. Script and editing are the weak spots, and theyâre pretty weak. Thereâs whole sections that should have been rewritten, and hundreds of minor nips and tucks would have helped, along with some major slices, and probably a few additions.
Well, âgoodâ isnât a bad place for a movie to land.