Baz Luhrmann's Elvis biopic could fix some things in The Great Gatsby that critics and audiences saw as big mistakes. Biopics have become a huge Hollywood trend, from Bohemian Rhapsody to Rocketman, and it was only a matter of time until someone, again, tackled the King of Rock 'N Roll. Elvis, starring Austin Butler and Tom Hanks, is directed by Baz Luhrmann, whose last directorial project was The Great Gatsby back in 2013. Almost 10 years apart, Elvis could patch over some shortcomings of Luhrmann's last.
The feat of adapting the great American novel would never be without its critics, and any films adapted from books can kill a franchise. Written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925, The Great Gatsby put money and wealth at its center, and focused on showing the sinister side of the Roaring 20s. When it was adapted by Luhrmann, critics thought the 3D film was too gaudy, and strayed too far from the original book's core message. They further thought that the glamorous aesthetics of the film displaced the idea that this lifestyle was something to be analyzed and criticized, and romanticized it too much. This error of not following the story thoroughly could be amended in Elvis.
The trailer for Elvis already suggests that Luhrmann is taking his signature saturated style and blending it with the realism of the story he is adapting the film from, which would fix the key criticism from the movie remake of The Great Gatsby. Luhrmann is yet again tackling a film that draws from source material, but he seems to be approaching it in a much more grounded way that is true to the story he's telling. The trailer is still colorful, vivid, and aesthetically pleasing in Luhrmann's style, but the crux of Elvis's story is also highlighted in its own right.
Elvis, all in all, seems a perfect match for Luhrmann's stylistic choices. The King himself was larger than life, luxurious, glamorous, and his life was a sensation, which thoroughly fits with Luhrmann as a director. This means Luhrmann can play into his strengths directly through his title character (played by Austin Butler,) while also keeping the story grounded in reality. For example, Elvis' avant-garde, unique costumes were part of his persona, but the crowds he was playing to in the 1950s were quite beige and largely conservative. The trailer shows this, which perfectly blends Luhrmann's style with reality, doing justice to the singer's story. Where The Great Gatsby was criticized for supposedly prioritizing style over substance, Luhrmann's Elvis mixes the two together to tell the almost unbelievable true story of a mythical rock star.
Baz Luhrmann's take on The Great Gatsby was definitely stamped with his style; opulent, loud, and one of a kind. Some critics believed this to be a detriment to Fitzgerald's story and the novel's important message. Yet, Elvis' trailer shows that Luhrmann is capable of executing his directorial vision without compromising the story at hand. This being the key criticism he faced with his last feature film, means that Elvis could finally win critics over.
