Jonathan Rhys-Meyers did as good a job as I've ever seen portraying the King of Rock and Roll. Although Elvis cursed more than he ever has in any version of his life I've seen, and he was often abusive to those he was close to, he was an appealing character overall, especially at the beginning of his career. And he really cared about his fans.
Something I wasn't aware of: Elvis cared about the quality of his movies as much as he cared about good music, but he didn't have as much control over his acting as his singing.
I can't recall Elvis' relationship to his mother being shown in such detail. Camryn Manheim did an outstanding job, and I noticed in the documentary airing later in the week on CBS how much the real Gladys Presley resembled Manheim.
Randy Quaid also impressed as Colonel Parker. He was very convincing as an aging man, and he was shown as quite a schemer, but he was not overdone.
There were many other good acting performances. Tim Guinee as Sam Phillips should be mentioned, and Rose McGowan made a sultry Ann-Margret. And I have to mention the black woman at the Cadillac dealership. A brief performance, but very effective.
Like Parker, I'm more of a Lawrence Welk man, but Elvis is something special. And the musical performances were great.
The first part was the most enjoyable, when Elvis was just a young kid getting his career started, when the talent came through and was not overshadowed by fame.
Overall, it was a worthy effort.
