GEORGE V MAGAZINE
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And while films like Maria, Priscilla, A Complete Unknown, and The Last Dance garnered a lot of attention last year , there are concerns that biopics often look too much like one another—with the same actors, the same stories, and even the same emotional punches. If biopics have become formulaic, what happens to creativity?
In the year 2025, we watch The Last Dance, a film about the rise and fall of Avicii, as well as Priscilla , which explores the love drama between Priscilla Presley and her famous husband Elvis, but the question remains: how deep do these films really go?
Although Priscilla brought a beautiful visual representation of the life of the legendary couple, the film was criticized for not going deep enough into the complicated dynamics between them. Priscilla Presley was more than just the “tropical princess” of Elvis’ life, but the movie didn’t explore that enough, leaving many moviegoers feeling like the story was unfinished.
Has the biopic become an industrial machine?
This trend of biopics, which originated in the 2010s, has reawakened with the huge success of films like Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman. But with each new film it becomes clear that the genre often serves more as a marketing tool than an honest attempt to portray someone’s life. Back to Black , a biopic about Amy Winehouse, for example, caused mixed reactions, while missing a deeper look at her inner struggles, and the focus was more on her career.
Many of these films are considered successful simply because they evoke emotions, but what is often missing is the risk – when the film director and producers decide to present some reality that the audience may not want to see, such as the darker parts of the lives of the protagonists themselves. So, for example, the film about Elvis Presley, Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, failed to deal with his tragic last years, leaving him as a hero without real flaws.
As biopics become more popular, the question arises: Have they become just another tool for creating glamorous, commercial versions of real people, forgetting to show their real struggles and weaknesses? Critics often note that biopics have become victims of their own popularity. Films such as Scoop , which aired Prince Andrew’s controversial interview, only further highlight the trend in which historical figures, whether still living or recently deceased, become objects for film adaptations, before enough time has passed for the true dimensions of their lives to be objectively seen.
Films like The Last Dance and Avicii I’m Team, which deals with the last days of Avicii, cannot be seen only as tributes, but as an opportunity to expand the story, because her ending was not only tragic, but complex, and the film tried to present it without any real internal analysis. These superficial depictions of life that have now become the established pattern focus too much on the outer image rather than the inner struggles.
The Rise of Biopics: Market Saturation and the Need for a New Approach
Given that the biopic has become so dominant, the question is – can audiences ever get tired? Despite the fact that audiences remain fascinated by the real lives of great personalities, concerns that the market will be oversaturated are growing. In order for films to remain relevant and engage a new generation of viewers, it is essential that they explore not only the successes, but also the complex personal and social challenges of their heroes.
As one film critic explained, biopics should recognize the “humanity” of their subjects. They should not only portray them as heroes, but also as people with flaws, mistakes and difficult moments, because that’s what actually makes a story worth watching. Filmmakers would have to “break away” from being just producers of entertainment and start making films that provoke genuine reflection and compassion.
Will biopics fall into the same trap?
Given all these challenges, the future of biopics begs the question of whether the genre will become too reliant on marketing techniques, while the actual art of storytelling will disappear. In the end, for biopics to retain their relevance and authenticity, a change in approach is needed – a bold examination of the lives of their subjects with all their bright and dark sides, without fear of entering uncomfortable and uncharted territories. In the end, it’s the only way to maintain the true strength of this genre.
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