I went to the Cineplex in Saint John this week expecting more than to just be entertained because it was my first big-screen film to see in three years. In some regards, I went as a hungry ghost and gratefully was not disappointed.

I watched through the lens of someone who lived the same decades which span the length of this film with all the complex calamities of post war trauma, the american dream, riots, racism, social segregation, familial breakdown, addictive behaviour escalation (alcohol, prescription drugs,  “glamour”, sex, consumerism, etc.), leader assassinations, and peril climate/environment change.

Rooted in the ancient art tradition of theatre, this film beautifully and musically keeps asking for a way through human suffering.
Through skillful cinematic mirroring, his written screenplay and a cast of characters set before an evolving backdrop in pop culture, film director Baz Luhrmann provides a creative portrayal of one King’s reign and following.

Elvis, of course, is the tragic hero. Ironically, however, so is Colonel Tom Parker. For an audience with 21st century readiness, this is where the film shimmers. It candidly depicts how any perceived need for a hero, unfortunately and fortunately, bequeaths in equal proportion, the need for a monster.

And as within, so without.

Reel makings for real-life happy endings. Brilliant. Five stars.

Louise Chase