Touches You

The first must-see film of the year.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Jonathan Rhys Meyers really did a good job on playing the King of RocknRoll, but I would've loved to have heard his own singing voice rather than the recording of the real Elvis' voice. It was really annoying, I suppose he didn't want to show off his own sexy singing voice haha.Anyways, I really enjoyed learning more about Elvis himself. He seems to be such an ambitious gentlemen that you really couldn't keep up with him and his talking! Boy, you surely don't wanna mess with the King! It was shocking to hear when he was at a show, instead of moving around his legs, he had to use his finger to jazz around instead. I mean what was the big deal for not wanting to move his legs when performing??I wish he was still alive today, he would've been proud that an actual Irish guy played himself on his own biopic movie. Long live the king <3

I've just watched the first half of this on DVD and can't believe I've waited so long to see it! I've never been too bothered about Elvis - he died 6 years before I was born - but this fascinated me from the first 5 minutes. I'm a fan of Johnny Rhys-Meyers anyway and this is by far the best thing I've seen him in.I bought the DVD as a Christmas present for an Elvis fan but I think I might have to get another copy for myself now, and borrow some of her other movies about/starring Elvis too.I understand comments about the lip-syncing, but if Johnny can't pin down the accent while singing (he's a great singer in his own right) then rather that have him do an injustice. I'd like to have heard Elvis try and sing in a Cork accent ;) I think that Johnny, plus the actress playing Mrs Presley and the actor as Colonel Parker have all done anastounding job here. The awards they won for it are well deserved. I can't wait to get home tonight and watch the second half.

I was quite appalled at this movie, which takes on an almost comedic approach to what is one of the most intriguing and moving stories. It seems that half the facts have been changed to turn Elvis' life into a better "story". If you want a more accurate story and actual Elvis footage, the documentaries made many years ago or 'This Is Elvis (1981)' is still a better bet. Acting by all in 'Elvis (2005)' is mediocre at best, and the way the lead actor portrays Elvis is a little "over the top" for a lot of the time. The rest of the cast is also average. The movie moves very slow in some parts and then jumps around in others, which makes it somewhat difficult to follow, and although as a whole it is a very average film, somehow it draws you in, until at the end you think to yourself, "How did I end up watching that for as long as I did?".

It was wonderful to hear Elvis' actual voice and music coming out of the mouth of Jonathan Rhys-Meyers. Frankly, I could have used even more of Presley's magnificent voice throughout.One of the previous posters mentioned that Marty Lacker commented on this film. I was in touch with Marty during my time on the Elvis message board and always enjoyed his comments. I regret that I couldn't find his comments on the film here. I don't imagine he liked it much. There was only one Elvis, and while you may be able to approximate him, you will never find anyone who will ultimately satisfy as Elvis. Kurt Russell probably came the closest, but I haven't seen everyone.All that being said, I enjoyed Part I of this miniseries more than Part II, and I did like Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, especially in Part I. I read some of the posts which mentioned he did not have Elvis' stature. Elvis Presley was one of the most gorgeous men who ever lived. He had it ALL. And that includes height. If you're asking to see an Elvis clone portraying Elvis, if it were possible, Elvis wouldn't have been the unique individual he was. The role of Elvis in this bio did not call for an Elvis impersonator, it called for an actor, and Rhys-Meyers is definitely that.The purpose of this film, and the purpose of the Elvis by the Presleys documentary, was to introduce Presley to a new audience. For this they chose a handsome, up-and-coming actor, in order to bring in the youth market. He's Irish. He played a man he didn't know personally and a man he didn't know very much about. He also had to play the script he was given. With those caveats, he was excellent, and, having seen Presley in some of the performances recreated in this film, he had obviously studied Elvis' movements.Though the miniseries captured many of the details we know of Elvis' story, in the end, it didn't capture Elvis himself - and may I say AGAIN, if that were an easy or even POSSIBLE thing to do, well, Elvis wouldn't be the legend he is today. The script I do not believe demonstrated Elvis' tremendous charm and charisma, nor his sense of humor. That was a problem in the script. It's very possible that given the opportunity Rhys-Meyers would have been up to the task.What the script did show is the conflict between Colonel Parker, well played by Randy Quaid, and Presley, giving us a hint of what was a very complicated relationship. Parker was about money; Elvis was about creativity. But it was more than that - Parker had absolutely no understanding of Elvis the artist, and in a sense, he dismissed that side of him. Parker did a great many good things for Elvis but in the end, he held him back tremendously. I knew that Elvis wanted to do the remake of A Star is Born, but I had not known (and I assume it's true) that Elvis wanted to do West Side Story. Since Tony is usually played by a very romantic type whom one cannot believe is affiliated with a gang, Presley would have been inspired casting. Not making better movies is one of the great tragedies of his career, along with never touring the world. I really have no use for Colonel Parker for a variety of reasons, which I won't go into here. And it wasn't all the Colonel - some of the problems had to do with Elvis' inability to let go.The film ends in a strange place - the '68 Comeback Special, and it is there the failing of Rhys-Meyers' physical appearance as Elvis really shows up. Elvis was beyond gorgeous on that special, and Rhys-Meyers just did not demonstrate those shocking good looks. And why end it there? Elvis became a smash hit in Vegas, and he had several successful years on tour before his lifestyle caught up with him.With the exception of Rhys-Meyers, Quaid, and Camryn Manheim as Gladys, there doesn't seem to have been much attention paid to the casting. Rose McGowan did not approximate the luscious Ann-Margret, and Antonia Bernath was not Priscilla.However, I think the miniseries did its job. We got to hear that glorious voice and see something of one of the most fascinating rags to riches story ever told. If the man was missing, I can't blame anyone but the man himself. He was one of a kind.