Cannes can’t help falling in love with Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis

Cannes was shaken, rattled and rolled as the world premiere of Elvis rocked the film festival on the French Riviera.

Baz Luhrmann and Priscilla Presley, centre, in Cannes with the Elvis cast, including Tom Hanks and rising star Austin Butler, left of Luhrmann, and Aussie Olivia DeJonge, far left. Picture: AFP

Cannes was shaken, rattled and rolled as the world premiere of Elvis rocked the film festival on the French Riviera, in what has proven a vintage year for music lovers.

The highly anticipated new film is the latest from Australia’s Baz Luhrmann, the technicolour maestro behind Romeo and Juliet and Moulin Rouge!.

He wore a rhinestone Elvis belt buckle and a blingy pinky ring with his tuxedo as he walked the famous red carpet for perhaps the glitziest evening of the 12-day ­festival.

The movie itself was a typical explosion of colour and break-neck editing – the 159-minute running time flying past – as rising star Austin Butler, 30, stepped ­triumphantly into the blue suede shoes of Elvis Presley.

Butler received unanimous praise in the initial reviews, with Screen Daily saying he recreates The King’s performances with “stunning force”, while Tom Hanks plays his infamous manager, Colonel Tom Parker, with “oily charm”.

“As a tribute from one cham­pion of outrageous showmanship to another, it dazzles,” wrote The Hollywood Reporter.

Luhrmann has become a favourite at Cannes, having wowed critics with his debut Strictly Ballroom in 1992, and opening the festival twice, with Moulin Rouge! and The Great Gatsby. His latest has been warmly welcomed by the family of Presley, who died in 1977 at the age of 42 after a descent into drug addiction, with granddaughter Riley Keough describing it as “a very intense experience”.

The King’s widow, Priscilla Presley, was a guest at the premiere, along with pop stars Kylie Minogue, Shakira and Ricky Martin.

As arguably the world’s leading film festival, Cannes seeks a line-up that balances hard-hitting dramas, art house experimentation and blockbuster spectacles. This year has seen plenty of Hollywood glamour, with Elvis preceded by last week’s launch of Top Gun: Maverick, which brought Tom Cruise and a French Air Force display team to the red carpet.

Other stars making an impression on Wednesday evening were Sharon Stone in Elvis-like aviator shades, and Brazilian model Adriana Lima showing off her baby bump in what appeared a homage to Princess Leia’s slave outfit from Return of the Jedi.

Meanwhile, a selection of more art house films is competing for the top prize, the Palme d’Or.

There have been powerful Iranian films about the country’s economic crisis and male violence (Holy Spider and Leila’s Brothers), a David Cronenberg film featuring gruesome bodily mutations (Crimes of the Future), a film about a legendary Russian composer’s secret homosexuality (Tchaikovsky’s Wife) and even one starring a donkey (EO).

But no clear frontrunner has emerged from the 21 films in competition, with critics deeply divided. That has left everyone guessing about which might pick up awards on Saturday night.

The decisions lie with the jury, which this year includes Indian superstar Deepika Padukone and Iran’s two-time Oscar winner Asghar Farhadi, led by French actor Vincent Lindon.

Celebrating its 75th edition, the festival has been a feast for music lovers. There were rave reviews for a new documentary about David Bowie, Moonage Daydream – part of a recent wave of innovative films about music legends.

“It’s not a biography,” director Brett Morgen said.

“The film is meant to be sublime, and kaleidoscopic, and kind of wash over you.”

Ethan Coen, half of the beloved Coen brothers filmmaking duo, was also in Cannes to present a documentary about another rock’n’roll pioneer, Jerry Lee Lewis.

AFP