'Elvis' review: Austen Butler and Tom Hanks shine in a fitting biopic on the King of Rock and Roll

Can the love of fans kill an artist? So claims Tom Hanks' character Colonel Tom Parker right at the beginning of the film. He admits that the world perceives him as the villain in King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley's life, some even blame him for his death but Colonel Parker drawls, "it's you (the fans) who killed him". Baz Luhrmann's biopic of the legendary artist travels back in time and narrates the origin of Presley as an artist and his very complicated relationship with his manager Colonel Tom Parker. Actor Austin Butler nearly looks and behaves like Presley and together with Hanks and Luhrman takes the audience back to the glorious days of the King- narrating his rise, fall and rise again.

Luhrmann who is known for his different style of storytelling- be it 'Romeo &Juliet' or 'Moulin Rouge' or even the 'The Great Gatsby', uses gospel music of the 1950s which Elvis was heavily influenced by and some of his iconic hits to create a fascinating world of the artist. The film begins with Colonel Parker going back in time on how he as a showrunner spotted Elvis during a local countryside music festival and took him under his wings.

It also touches upon the singer's growing up years in black-dominated neighbourhoods in Mississippi and thus his music was majorly influenced by black artists who sang blues and jazz along with gospel music. A poignant moment at the beginning of the film has a young Elvis going into a trance while moving to a church song.

Another scene that stays on is one of the introductory scenes of Butler as the relatively unknown singer. Dressed in pink with heavy eye makeup, as the young Elvis walks in he gets booed for his looks and hair. The hall is silent when Elvis starts to tap his feet and eventually starts moving his legs vigorously to the beats and women slowly start losing it in the hall, wanting to grab him and get a piece of him almost. The performance led to the inception of the quintessential Elvis moves which at that time were termed as obscene and vulgar.

The film then goes on to highlight his rise to stardom, touches upon his service in US Airforce, his Hollywood career and his famous Las Vegas concerts which Parker had orchestrated for his vested interest.

Hanks, an actor par excellence, plays the wobbly, mysterious Parker to the hilt and also manages to make him the hero of Elvis' life. The relationship the two shared was complicated and the film muses on whether Elvis would have been such a huge star had it not been for Parker and his passion to make him this big.

The star of the film is Austen Butler as Elvis. Playing an iconic character on screen comes with huge responsibility and there is always a very thin line between emulating and becoming a caricature. Fortunately, Butler, who has even sung some of the songs, maintains a fine balance and delivers a class act. Butler doesn't look like Elvis, yet his performance grows on to you eventually.

The film also wins because of the fluidity that the filmmaker maintains in narrating the film with scenes transitioning in a musical format almost. The narrative keeps going back and forth, yet it never slips because of its effective storyline.

For die-hard fans of the King of rock and roll, the story of Elvis is perhaps not new. But the film's release is timely for a generation who have perhaps heard of the musician and some of his songs but wouldn't know the hysteria that he created in his heyday. The film is a compelling watch for the performances by Hanks and Butler and for the legacy the artist left behind which to date remains unmatched. 'Elvis' has released in theatres this Friday.