ELVIS

*CUT TO THE CHASE*

NOTE: This spoiler was submitted by Jeremy

The film opens in 1997. Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks) collapses in his home. He is rushed to the hospital. As he lays dying, news outlets remember him as a liar, a cheat, and a con man. Parker himself begins to narrate. He acknowledges that while many will paint him as the villain, he considers himself the man who gave the world the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Aaron Presley (Austin Butler).

Jump back to Las Vegas in the 1970’s, at the International Hotel. Elvis is barely able to stand, with his entourage dunking his head into ice cold water to get him on his feet. Parker shows up and declares that the most important thing is that Elvis be able to get up on that stage. Despite the chaos, Elvis manages to get up and perform “An American Trilogy” to an amazed crowd. While Parker continues his tale, he is seen walking alone through an empty casino. The same news outlets reporting Parker’s demise also blame him for what happened to Elvis, but he firmly argues against those claims.

Parker begins his tale in the mid-1950’s, where he, an undocumented Dutch immigrant, worked at a carnival for Hank Snow (David Wenham). Hank’s son Jimmie Rodgers (Kodi-Smit McPhee) shows up with a record that has a country kind of sound to it. While the others in the crowd seem to like the tune, Hank and Parker don’t think the music is marketable since it sounds like music played by African-American folks. Jimmie informs them that the song is being sung by a white man, and Parker suddenly becomes interested.

By Parker’s account, he first encountered Elvis at a musical performance at one of Hank’s shows for a radio performance, where the young man was nervous about getting onstage. He was encouraged by his mother Gladys (Helen Thomson) to get up there, saying that someone named Jesse is watching them. Parker explains in narration that Jesse was Elvis’s twin brother who died in childbirth. Through his account, it is shown that Elvis’s father Vernon (Richard Roxburgh) was incarcerated due to his shady dealings, and Elvis would get lost in comics and pretend he would do what he could to free his father. His favorite hero was Shazam (back when he was still known as Captain Marvel). As a kid, Elvis (here played by Chaydon Jay). He befriended black children and found himself enchanted by soulful black music. As an adult in the early 1950’s, Elvis worked at Sun Records to make music and support his family.

At the performance, everyone gets ready to watch Elvis go up and show what he’s got. While he is initially mocked by the crowd, he immediately charms the ladies in the crowd with his voice and his gyrating hips. While the female crowd is amazed by Elvis, the older crowd is put off and considers him indecent.

Elvis soon joins Hank’s musical tour across the south, with Parker following him in an attempt to win him over. Elvis continues to draw hordes of female admirers, but Hank views him as being inappropriate for the crowd he wants to attract. At a carnival, Parker finds Elvis in a house of mirrors and talks to him on the ferris wheel. He tells Elvis that Hank wants to get rid of him, but Parker assures Elvis he can take him to new heights. Elvis, driven by his desire to help his family, agrees to work with Parker. The two even convince Gladys and Vernon to join, with Vernon being appointed to the management position of the newly founded Presley Enterprises.

While Gladys is uncertain about Elvis venturing into a new career with music, he convinces her that he can make something of himself. Before making it big in music, Elvis works as a truck driver, but he is still amazed by black performers on Beale Street in Memphis like BB King (Kelvin Harrison Jr) and Big Mama Thornton (Shonka Dukureh), the latter who sings the song “Hound Dog”, which Elvis likes the sound of. His employers at Sun Records also encourage Elvis to strike out on his own.

Elvis’s star begins to rise as his popularity takes off, and with Parker’s help, he is able to move his parents to a mansion, Graceland. Parker also develops Elvis merchandise, including pins that say “I hate Elvis” because even hate can make them some money. However, despite his success, the sexual nature of Elvis’s dance moves and the way that he captivates the female audience puts a concern on parents and elected officials, who dub him “Elvis The Pelvis”. Senator James Eastland (Nicholas Bell) personally rallies against Elvis and Parker, demanding that he clean up his act or go to jail.

Elvis is made to wear more appropriate clothing (compared to what a butler wears), and his music is toned down, which disappoints his fans and angers Elvis for having to be held back. This also causes a strain between Elvis and Gladys, the latter who has fallen into alcoholism. He drives down to Beale Street and hangs out with BB and other black folks, where they watch Little Richard (Alton Mason) perform. Elvis and BB talk outside, where BB says that there are too many people profiting off of Elvis to try and put him in jail for how he performs, so he encourages him to do whatever he wants to do.

Elvis is driven to a concert, where he is ordered to not do so much as wiggle a finger, or he will be arrested. As Elvis gets onstage, he remembers BB’s words and addresses the audience, saying nobody is going to change him, and the crowd goes wild. He begins to perform “Trouble” and the ladies in the audience go crazy as he wiggles his hips. Parker is horrified, and he orders security to pull Elvis offstage, where he is arrested.

In 1958, Elvis is soon threatened with going to jail for indecency, but he is given the option to serve overseas in Germany. Gladys fears for her son’s safety, and she eventually dies. At her funeral, reporters try to get statements from Elvis, but both he and Vernon are too heartbroken to face anybody, and Elvis is left sitting in his mother’s closet, sobbing against her clothes. Parker steps in and convinces him to step outside for the sake of Gladys, saying that everything she sacrificed for her son will be for nothing.

By 1959, Elvis is serving in Germany, where he meets Priscilla Wagner (Olivia DeJonge), daughter of an army pilot. Other people in the area like to catch a glimpse of Elvis, though he enjoys spending his private time with Priscilla, as he begins to fall in love with her.

In the 1960’s, Elvis makes his comeback to the United States by appearing as an actor in films, beginning with “Love Me Tender”. Parker notes that people only want to watch Elvis sing, so he is featured as a singer in more films. Elvis and Priscilla get married, and they have a daughter, Lisa Marie. Elvis later develops his own entourage, the “Memphis Mafia”, which includes Priscilla, his friend Jerry Schilling (Luke Bracey), and several others. During his time on the road, Elvis learns about the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. While Parker tells him it has nothing to do with them, Elvis believes it has everything to do with them. Elvis is introduced to Steve Binder (Dacre Montgomery) by Jerry, with Steve wanting to help Elvis out with his work.

Parker books Elvis for a Christmas special on NBC where the producers want him to do a clean show and sing “Here Comes Santa Clause”. Instead, Elvis performs many of his biggest hits, like “Heartbreak Hotel” and “Jailhouse Rock”. At some point during a break, Elvis and company learn about the assassination of Robert Kennedy, which also deeply unnerves Elvis. Parker breaks it up and orders Elvis to do a Christmas song, since the producers won’t pay him otherwise, and Parker will drop Elvis. The next night of the show, Elvis performs “If I Can Dream” as a protest song, and it becomes another big hit.

Parker then brings Elvis to Vegas at the International Hotel, where the owners want to have Elvis there as a headline performer. After scoring a huge payment for Elvis, Parker is then told that as long as Elvis performs at the International, Parker will have his debts wiped clean and have an endless line of credit. However, Elvis wants to start traveling and performing internationally, which Parker refuses to allow since he is undocumented, which was brought up when he was confronted by Eastland. During his tenure at the hotel, Priscilla watches as Elvis kisses other women. Parker also orders tighter security due to Elvis getting death threats, as well as crazed fans trying to rush him onstage.

Elvis attempts to cut ties with Parker, only to be sued by him later on. Vernon tells Elvis that he owes over $8 million to the record label for his numerous expenses. Elvis angrily confronts Parker but has no choice but to keep him on. The stress drives Elvis to a pill addiction and alcoholism, and he grows increasingly paranoid. During one of his shows, he publicly calls Parker out as someone who is keeping him caged up there, and he walks offstage after the curtain drops. Priscilla also ends up divorcing Elvis due to his addiction, as well as him not being there for Lisa Marie.

By the mid 1970’s, Elvis is nearly 40, and he has started gaining weight. His health is also in serious decline. He is on a runway with Priscilla and Lisa Marie before he has to leave them again. Priscilla asks him to go to a special clinic that she heard about, at least for the sake of Lisa Marie, but Elvis says he cannot. Priscilla tearfully leaves him for the last time before he boards his plane.

In 1977, Elvis dies at the age of 42 from a heart attack. Fans all around the world pay tribute to him, and a statement is given by President Jimmy Carter to memorialize him. Parker’s final narration states that he doesn’t think it was the pills or alcohol, or even himself that killed Elvis, but rather, it was the love that Elvis desired from his fans. He also notes that he still got to see Elvis perform one last time before his death. Elvis is shown appearing obese and worn out, but he still manages to belt out “Unchained Melody” to an adoring crowd. Back in 1997, Parker takes his final breath.

The ending text states that Colonel Tom Parker’s abuse of Elvis was made known in a series of lawsuits after his death. Although he tried to defend himself, Parker wound up spending his final years in disgrace, pouring what little remained of his fortune into Vegas slot machines. Meanwhile, Elvis Presley is still the highest-selling solo artist of all time, and his influence and legacy on music continues to this day.

The film depicts the meteoric rise of the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley, as well as the relationship between him and his manager, Colonel Tom Parker.

Parker was an undocumented Dutch immigrant who became a grifter working at a carnival before setting his sights on managing Elvis after hearing him singing on the radio. Elvis, influenced by black musicians, joins Parker, along with his parents Gladys and Vernon. Although Elvis proves to be a hit with a young crowd, especially women, older parents and politicians rally against him, seeing his sexual dance moves as indecent and wanting to put him in jail. Parker attempts to get Elvis to clean up his image, but Elvis refuses to be told how to act. To avoid jail time, he serves overseas in Germany, which puts such a stress on Gladys that she drinks herself to death, devastating her son.

Elvis meets and falls in love with Priscilla Wagner, and they get married and have a daughter, Lisa Marie. Elvis makes his comeback starring in films and creating more music with the help of his entourage. However, Parker controls much of what Elvis does and takes a 50% cut of his earnings. When Elvis wants to perform internationally, Parker refuses to allow it to avoid making his undocumented status known. Parker makes Elvis perform at the International Hotel in Las Vegas for more than five years, which drives Elvis to alcoholism and a pill addiction and causes Priscilla to leave him.

By the mid-70's, Elvis's health has gone into severe decline, and he has gained significant weight. He dies of a heart attack at the age of 42. News of Parker's abuse of him is made known after his death through a series of lawsuits, and Parker spends the last years of his life alone and disgraced. Elvis is still known as the best-selling solo artist of all time, and his music continues to leave a massive impact in the present.