Elvis made quite a splash when it held its premiere at Cannes, earning a standing ovation that reportedly lasted longer than ten straight minutes. With its early reviews, the film has left an overall very positive impression with critics with a score currently sitting at 83% fresh. Every critic will have their own opinion about the film, but for director Baz Luhrmann, Elvis has already gotten the review that matters most - and it was quite glowing.
Per Deadline, Luhrmann addressed the film at a Cannes press conference. He said how showing the film to Priscilla Presley, who was married to Elvis, had resulted in the greatest review he'd ever gotten. Luhrmann recalled how Presley told him how happy she was with Austin Butler's performance as the late singer, feeling so convinced that she believes even the real Elvis would be impressed. As Luhrmann said:
“No review would ever mean the most to us than the woman who was married to Elvis Presley. [She said] ‘I just wasn’t ready for that. Every breath about Austin, every move, the spirit of the person, the humanity. If my husband were here today he’d look him in the eye and say ‘How dare you? You are me.'”
Luhrmann added that Elvis' daughter Lisa Marie Presley and granddaughter Riley Keough were also very satisfied with the film. As the director and Butler had put so much time and effort into capturing the essence of Elvis, there is perhaps no review he's ever had for a film that meant quite as much as the Presley family praising Elvis.
“He was a father, he was a husband, and a grandfather and a person, and they have children. The greatest review I got from them in my life; now there’s something they can look to that is the truth of the humanity of the man.”
The Presley Family Loves the Film
Riley Keough recently spoke about how Baz Luhrmann and Austin Butler did so well telling her grandfather's story that she cried throughout the entire film. As Elvis was such a unique performer, convincingly playing him in a movie would be an immense challenge for any actor. Hard work pays off as Keough was so stunned by the performance, echoing her mother and grandmother with their opinion that Butler is perfect as the King of Rock 'n Roll.
"In the first five minutes, I could feel how much work Baz and Austin put into trying to get it right. That made me emotional immediately. I started crying five minutes in and didn’t stop. There’s a lot of family trauma and generational trauma that started around then for our family. I felt honored they worked so hard to really get his essence, to feel his essence. Austin captured that so beautifully.”
Luhrmann directed Elvis using a screenplay co-written with Sam Bromell, Craig Pearce, and Jeremy Doner. Along with Butler, the film stars Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker, as well as Luke Bracey, David Wenham, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Gary Clark Jr.
Elvis will be released in movie theaters on June 24, 2022.