Elvis biopic: Austin Butler praised, but mixed reviews for film

Many critics praised actor Austin Butler’s portrayal of Elvis Presley in a new biopic of the singer, which has received generally positive reviews.

The film, directed by Baz Luhrmann, had its world premiere on Wednesday at the Cannes Film Festival. Butler “throws himself into the performance,” according to The Wrap, and Total Film predicted an Oscar nomination.

Vanity Fair, on the other hand, called Butler “the only thing that works,” while IndieWire called the film “deliriously awful.” “Yes, it’s a bright and splashy jukebox epic with an irresistible central performance from Austin Butler,” wrote Robbie Collin of The Telegraph, who gave the film four stars.

“But it veers in and out of fashion on a scene-by-scene basis, in that signature Luhrmann way: it’s the most impeccably styled and blaringly gaudy thing you’ll see all year, and all the more fun for it.”

Elvis is “easily Luhrmann’s best movie since Romeo + Juliet,” according to Kevin Maher of the New York Times, in another four-star review. “The musical numbers have a lot of power because of Butler’s performance, but also because of Luhrmann’s editing, which has the kind of frenetic rhythms that are almost impossible to resist (feet will tap),” he said.

When Butler was cast as Elvis Presley in 2019, he reportedly beat out Harry Styles, Ansel Elgort, and Miles Teller.

Butler’s performance was praised by Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent, who wrote that the actor “makes a compelling argument for Elvis’ power, at a time when the musician’s arguably lost a little of his cultural cachet.”

“Butler has the looks, voice, stance, and wiggle down pat,” she said, “but what’s truly impressive is that indescribable, undistillable essence of Elvis-ness – magnetic, gentle, and fierce all at once.”

Steve Pond of The Wrap described the star’s performance as “wildly physical but never cartoonish or disrespectful.”

Total Film’s Jordan Farley said: “Some may be offended by the length of the film, which clocks in at over 150 minutes, but a lack of action isn’t the issue; there’s enough to Elvis’ story to fill 150 hours.

“The problem is that well-edited montages or a time jump bridged by a newspaper headline to fill in the gaps miss a lot of interesting material. Most of Elvis’s Hollywood years, as well as his initial rise to chart-topping fame, are relegated to one of these montage.

“In the end, nothing in Elvis’ life happens gradually – this is a fast-paced life story, but such is the energy that Luhrmann cultivates. At the very least, it’s never dull.”

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