"When one twin died, the one that lived got all the strength of both"
Gladys Presley (mother of Elvis and Jesse)
Gladys Presley (mother of Elvis and Jesse)
Synopsis:
It's not a particularly widely-known fact outside enthusiast circles that Elvis Aron Presley had a twin brother - Jesse Garon - who was still-born.
Elvis fanatics will note that The King himself did from time to time refer wistfully to the sibling with whom he shared a womb but not a life, while their mother Gladys maintained that things would have panned out quite differently had the elder Jesse lived.
It is difficult to contend with Mama Presley, for she and her husband Vernon raised the surviving Elvis with an affection bordering on possessiveness that was still rare in the earlier half of the 20th century. FOOL SUCH AS I develops this notion by presenting a possible alternative history that sees the young Elvis sharing this obsessive love - and the natural, unbreakable bond - with his notional twin. Growing up with a natural foil is unlikely to have resulted in Elvis developing into quite the same self-sufficient, solo talent he became - and any diversion in the breaks he benefitted from in those formative days would surely have changed his destiny forever.
A delicate, moving character study, FOOL SUCH AS I is the story of a life that took a totally different path courtesy of familial loyalty and ultimately treachery... and no matter how ignominiously the real life story ended, concludes with a message that what went before was itself only by a dint of fate - and for that we should all be grateful.
It's not a particularly widely-known fact outside enthusiast circles that Elvis Aron Presley had a twin brother - Jesse Garon - who was still-born.
Elvis fanatics will note that The King himself did from time to time refer wistfully to the sibling with whom he shared a womb but not a life, while their mother Gladys maintained that things would have panned out quite differently had the elder Jesse lived.
It is difficult to contend with Mama Presley, for she and her husband Vernon raised the surviving Elvis with an affection bordering on possessiveness that was still rare in the earlier half of the 20th century. FOOL SUCH AS I develops this notion by presenting a possible alternative history that sees the young Elvis sharing this obsessive love - and the natural, unbreakable bond - with his notional twin. Growing up with a natural foil is unlikely to have resulted in Elvis developing into quite the same self-sufficient, solo talent he became - and any diversion in the breaks he benefitted from in those formative days would surely have changed his destiny forever.
A delicate, moving character study, FOOL SUCH AS I is the story of a life that took a totally different path courtesy of familial loyalty and ultimately treachery... and no matter how ignominiously the real life story ended, concludes with a message that what went before was itself only by a dint of fate - and for that we should all be grateful.
